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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. field — for sport
  3. march — music
  4. court — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. march — the month
  10. field — a subject
  11. staff — employees
  12. bat — the animal
  13. march — the month
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — thin
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. staff — a stick
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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