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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. 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. net — for catching
  2. march — the month
  3. field — for sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. field — a subject
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. march — the month
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. net — in sport
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. band — a music group
  15. wake — a trail
  16. field — farmland
  17. band — a ring
  18. 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