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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. track — a path
  5. march — the month
  6. field — farmland
  7. drill — the tool
  8. squash — to crush
  9. rule — government
  10. track — to keep track
  11. net — for catching
  12. march — the month
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. march — music
  15. track — a song
  16. field — for sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — after costs
  19. squash — the sport
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. field — a subject
  22. drill — a practice
  23. rule — a law
  24. drill — army training

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