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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. march — the month
  9. court — for sport
  10. kick — in football
  11. field — for sport
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. field — farmland
  14. roll — a cake
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. date — the fruit
  18. shower — to wash
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. roll — a list
  21. fork — in a road
  22. shower — rain
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com