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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rush — hurry
  3. wind — moving air
  4. field — for sport
  5. march — music
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. field — farmland
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. track — a path
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. track — to keep track
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. track — a song
  14. wind — moving air
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. march — the month
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. field — a subject
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. content — the amount

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