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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — for sport
  3. last — to go on
  4. field — farmland
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. field — a subject
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. staff — employees
  9. march — the month
  10. last — finally
  11. cue — a hint
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. last — final
  14. mine — for digging
  15. march — music
  16. staff — employees
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a signal
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pound — a weight
  24. staff — a stick

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