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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. field — for sport
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. march — the month
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. march — the month
  15. branch — a division
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. rush — hurry
  19. season — in sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. march — music
  23. field — a subject
  24. season — of the year

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