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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. field — a subject
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. present — there
  7. march — the month
  8. last — final
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — a grade
  11. field — farmland
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. net — after costs
  14. present — the time now
  15. net — in sport
  16. march — music
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. field — for sport
  20. bass — the fish
  21. present — a gift
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. march — the month
  24. bat — the animal

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