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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. field — farmland
  3. staff — a stick
  4. march — music
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. ground — a position
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — size or range
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. mark — a grade
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. march — the month
  20. staff — employees
  21. ground — crushed
  22. march — the month
  23. mark — a trace
  24. ground — the earth

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