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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. ball — a dance
  3. march — the month
  4. rock — a stone
  5. march — the month
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. field — farmland
  8. pit — in a race
  9. field — for sport
  10. march — music
  11. pit — a hole
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. squash — the sport
  17. present — a gift
  18. drill — army training
  19. field — a subject
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. rock — music
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. ball — a great time
  24. squash — to crush

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