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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. rush — hurry
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — to get on
  5. march — music
  6. track — to keep track
  7. march — the month
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. mug — to rob
  10. march — the month
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — for sport
  20. track — a path
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mug — a cup
  24. track — a song

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