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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. key — in music
  3. key — the most important part
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. march — the month
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mate — a partner
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. field — farmland
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. march — music
  14. fall — the season
  15. key — for a lock
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. field — a subject
  20. march — the month
  21. fall — to drop
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fall — to drop

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