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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pound — a weight
  3. march — the month
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. field — a subject
  6. club — for dancing
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. club — for golf
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. rash — hasty
  12. field — for sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. field — farmland
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rash — a series
  20. club — a group
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. march — music

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