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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. craft — boats
  3. field — farmland
  4. row — to paddle
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — a skill
  7. field — for sport
  8. march — the month
  9. field — a subject
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cap — a hat
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. cap — of ice
  15. march — the month
  16. board — a committee
  17. cap — a lid
  18. board — to get on
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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