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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. foot — a measure
  3. ball — a dance
  4. row — to paddle
  5. march — the month
  6. row — a line
  7. field — for sport
  8. pitch — completely
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. march — the month
  13. ball — a great time
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. capital — money

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