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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 116 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. march — the month
  3. face — part of the head
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. field — for sport
  6. march — the month
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. field — farmland
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. track — a song
  11. wax — to grow
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. field — a subject
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. march — music
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. track — a path
  23. band — a ring
  24. track — to keep track

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