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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. march — the month
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. march — the month
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. march — music
  10. kid — to tease
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. toast — bread
  16. kid — child
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. field — farmland
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. mark — a grade
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mark — a trace
  24. wind — moving air

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