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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spring — a coil
  3. field — for sport
  4. spring — the season
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mark — a grade
  10. ground — a position
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. spring — of water
  13. march — music
  14. wake — a trail
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. mark — a trace
  17. field — farmland
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. rush — hurry
  20. fine — high quality
  21. field — a subject
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. march — the month
  24. ground — the earth

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