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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. row — to paddle
  3. field — farmland
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. field — a subject
  6. cell — a phone
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cap — a lid
  12. fall — the season
  13. cap — of ice
  14. row — a line
  15. stem — to come from
  16. march — the month
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cell — in biology
  21. march — the month
  22. cap — a hat
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. field — for 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