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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — for sport
  3. land — ground
  4. last — to go on
  5. bore — to drill
  6. field — farmland
  7. last — final
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bore — to tire
  10. craft — boats
  11. land — to come down
  12. craft — a skill
  13. field — a subject
  14. march — the month
  15. perch — the fish
  16. march — music
  17. mate — to breed
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. last — finally
  23. land — a country
  24. mate — a friend

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