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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 124 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. land — ground
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bound — obliged
  7. march — the month
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. land — a country
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. field — a subject
  13. march — the month
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bound — certain
  16. march — music
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. bound — tied together
  19. field — for sport
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wake — a trail
  23. field — farmland
  24. fan — a supporter

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