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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. suit — to fit
  4. march — the month
  5. suit — clothes
  6. wind — moving air
  7. root — of a plant
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. suit — in cards
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wind — moving air
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. branch — a division
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. court — of law
  18. march — the month
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. field — farmland
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. march — music

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