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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. swing — in golf
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. march — music
  5. field — farmland
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. march — the month
  8. field — for sport
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. swing — music
  15. march — the month
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. swing — to play on
  24. nail — for a hammer

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