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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. file — a line of people
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. file — a document
  8. field — for sport
  9. bulb — for light
  10. file — a tool
  11. march — music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. field — farmland
  15. bulb — for light
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. sharp — clever
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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