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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. march — the month
  3. cue — a signal
  4. march — the month
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. field — farmland
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. perch — the fish
  10. lean — to bend
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cue — for pool
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cue — a hint
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bat — the animal
  21. field — for sport
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. lean — thin
  24. march — music

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