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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. field — farmland
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. march — the month
  6. field — a subject
  7. rash — a series
  8. march — music
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. game — a match
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. last — to go on
  16. march — the month
  17. root — of a plant
  18. field — for sport
  19. last — finally
  20. drill — the tool
  21. root — of a word
  22. last — final
  23. root — the cause
  24. rash — hasty

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