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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. march — the month
  3. field — for sport
  4. march — the month
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. club — for golf
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. club — a group
  10. bear — the animal
  11. field — a subject
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. march — music
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bear — the animal
  17. club — for dancing
  18. field — farmland

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