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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. march — the month
  3. wound — an injury
  4. march — music
  5. field — a subject
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wake — a trail
  8. field — for sport
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pass — a permit
  12. squash — the sport
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. net — for catching
  16. wound — an injury
  17. field — farmland
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. squash — to crush
  20. march — the month
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. net — in sport
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. net — after costs

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