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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. field — farmland
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fall — the season
  6. content — happy
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. field — for sport
  11. fall — to drop
  12. march — music
  13. rest — a break
  14. field — a subject
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fall — to drop
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. march — the month
  19. stand — to bear
  20. kid — child
  21. content — the amount
  22. rest — what's left
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. rest — what's left

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