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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. field — a subject
  3. march — the month
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wake — a trail
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. march — music
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. spring — of water
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. toast — bread
  16. spring — the season
  17. march — the month
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. ground — crushed
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rash — a series
  23. ground — a position
  24. pitcher — a jug

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