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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.

Make a worksheet

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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. march — the month
  5. sharp — clever
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. field — a subject
  8. net — in sport
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. march — music
  11. field — for sport
  12. march — the month
  13. net — for catching
  14. land — ground
  15. field — farmland
  16. land — a country
  17. net — after costs
  18. pass — a permit

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