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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. bank — for money
  3. field — a subject
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. cell — a phone
  7. field — farmland
  8. march — the month
  9. tube — a container
  10. bank — for money
  11. field — for sport
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. key — the most important part
  14. march — music
  15. bank — of a river
  16. cell — in biology
  17. court — of a king
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. tube — the underground
  21. march — the month
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. current — electric
  24. current — of water

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