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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tear — to rip
  6. board — a committee
  7. drill — army training
  8. march — the month
  9. field — for sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bass — low music
  12. bulb — for light
  13. field — farmland
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. march — the month
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bulb — for light
  21. march — music
  22. board — to get on
  23. bass — the fish
  24. tear — from crying

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