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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. perch — the fish
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. present — a gift
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. march — the month
  14. field — a subject
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. present — there
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stock — shares
  20. game — a match
  21. field — farmland
  22. snap — to click
  23. game — wild animals
  24. present — the time now

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