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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. march — music
  3. toast — bread
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. rush — hurry
  7. bass — low music
  8. field — for sport
  9. stand — to bear
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. field — a subject
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bass — the fish
  19. game — a match
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. mark — a grade
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. game — a kind of play

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