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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. 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. field — farmland
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. stand — to bear
  4. field — for sport
  5. bank — for money
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. court — of law
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. court — for sport
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. court — of a king
  13. field — a subject
  14. march — the month
  15. sharp — clever
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. bass — the fish
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bank — of a river
  21. march — the month
  22. bass — low music
  23. bank — for money
  24. 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