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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. march — music
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. ground — a position
  5. scale — in music
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. march — the month
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. scale — size or range
  10. field — for sport
  11. pass — a permit
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. toast — bread
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. ground — the earth
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pitch — completely
  22. march — the month
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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