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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. scale — size or range
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. scale — in music
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. rash — a series
  11. march — music
  12. chair — a leader
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pop — music
  15. march — the month
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pop — to visit
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. pop — soda
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. field — farmland
  23. rash — hasty
  24. court — of a king

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