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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — farmland
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. field — for sport
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. track — to keep track
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. root — of a plant
  12. land — to come down
  13. root — of a word
  14. track — a path
  15. march — music
  16. sharp — clever
  17. march — the month
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. root — the cause
  20. track — a song
  21. court — for sport
  22. land — ground
  23. field — a subject
  24. land — a country

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