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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. field — farmland
  8. pound — a weight
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — a safe
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. march — the month
  18. shower — rain
  19. stand — to bear
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. field — a subject
  24. shower — to wash

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