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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. present — there
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. field — farmland
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. present — the time now
  8. drill — a practice
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. field — a subject
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. march — music
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bat — the animal
  16. present — a gift
  17. march — the month
  18. track — to keep track
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. track — a path
  22. march — the month
  23. pound — a weight
  24. track — a song

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