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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. court — for sport
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. court — of law
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. capital — money
  8. roll — a cake
  9. key — for a lock
  10. track — to keep track
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. capital — a city
  13. field — a subject
  14. key — in music
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. track — a path
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. field — for sport
  19. roll — a list
  20. key — the most important part
  21. field — farmland
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. court — of a king
  24. track — a song

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