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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. field — farmland
  7. bear — the animal
  8. clip — a video
  9. march — music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — for sport
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a match
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. bear — the animal
  22. march — the month
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. field — a subject

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