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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 120 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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. march — the month
  3. capital — money
  4. file — a line of people
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. field — for sport
  7. march — music
  8. capital — a city
  9. staff — employees
  10. field — farmland
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a signal
  15. field — a subject
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. cue — a hint
  18. file — a document
  19. march — the month
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. file — a tool
  24. staff — employees

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