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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. pitch — completely
  3. field — for sport
  4. mate — a friend
  5. field — a subject
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. march — the month
  10. mate — to breed
  11. march — music
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. cap — a hat
  14. pop — to visit
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pop — soda
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — to come from
  20. cap — a lid
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. pop — music
  24. field — farmland

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