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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bank — for money
  8. wound — an injury
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bank — for money
  14. fall — to drop
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — for sport
  20. bank — of a river
  21. lie — to recline
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fall — the season
  24. field — a subject

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