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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 124 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. field — farmland
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. march — the month
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. march — the month
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — music
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — a subject
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. field — for sport
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. bulb — for light

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