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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mine — for digging
  4. field — farmland
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rest — a break
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. present — there
  12. march — music
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. rest — what's left
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. rest — what's left
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. pitch — completely
  23. stand — to bear
  24. field — for sport

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