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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 120 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. march — the month
  4. staff — employees
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. staff — employees
  13. field — farmland
  14. court — of a king
  15. field — for sport
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mine — for digging
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. court — of law
  21. court — for sport
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. staff — a stick

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