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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. mate — a partner
  6. deal — to handle
  7. march — the month
  8. field — for sport
  9. row — a line
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. mate — a friend
  14. field — farmland
  15. drill — the tool
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. net — for catching
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. row — to paddle
  24. mate — to breed

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