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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. ball — a dance
  3. field — for sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. rest — what's left
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rest — a break
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. rash — a series
  14. ball — a great time
  15. field — farmland
  16. rash — hasty
  17. march — music
  18. cell — in biology
  19. field — a subject
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. stand — to bear
  24. season — in sport

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