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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. drill — a practice
  4. march — music
  5. track — a path
  6. rest — what's left
  7. march — the month
  8. cold — an illness
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a song
  11. field — for sport
  12. stand — to bear
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — the month
  15. fall — the season
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. rest — a break
  23. field — a subject
  24. drill — army training

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