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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. bass — low music
  5. march — music
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. ground — a position
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. ground — crushed
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. fall — the season
  15. toast — bread
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bass — the fish
  19. row — a line
  20. fall — to drop
  21. field — a subject
  22. row — to paddle
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. ground — the earth

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