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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 wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. land — a country
  9. kid — to tease
  10. field — a subject
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. drill — army training
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. drill — the tool
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. kid — child
  23. pass — a permit
  24. march — music

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