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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. spring — the season
  7. rash — a series
  8. march — the month
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. staff — a stick
  11. mate — a friend
  12. march — the month
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — employees
  15. field — farmland
  16. mate — a partner
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. foot — a measure
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. march — music
  21. rash — hasty
  22. spring — of water
  23. mate — to breed
  24. ruler — a monarch

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