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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fine — all right
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. march — the month
  8. drill — army training
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. field — farmland
  12. march — the month
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. field — for sport
  19. fine — high quality
  20. march — music
  21. stand — to bear
  22. drill — a practice
  23. field — a subject
  24. stand — for spectators

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