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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fall — to drop
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fall — the season
  5. wind — moving air
  6. march — the month
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wind — moving air
  9. root — of a plant
  10. field — for sport
  11. band — a music group
  12. saw — the tool
  13. field — farmland
  14. root — the cause
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. root — of a word
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. band — a ring
  22. march — music
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. march — the month

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