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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: root · staff · fine · file · march · game · cue · field

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. march — the month
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. game — wild animals
  6. root — of a plant
  7. fine — all right
  8. staff — employees
  9. march — the month
  10. file — a tool
  11. field — for sport
  12. fine — high quality
  13. root — of a word
  14. file — a document
  15. staff — employees
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — a signal
  18. staff — a stick
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cue — for pool
  21. root — the cause
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. game — a match
  24. march — music

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