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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pitch — completely
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. track — a path
  5. stand — to bear
  6. march — music
  7. band — a music group
  8. track — to keep track
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. band — a ring
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. track — a song
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. cold — an illness
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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