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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. stand — to bear
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. field — a subject
  5. march — music
  6. spring — of water
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. march — the month
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. march — the month
  11. foot — a measure
  12. band — a ring
  13. game — wild animals
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. band — a music group
  19. field — for sport
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. field — farmland
  22. game — a match
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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