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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — the month
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. field — farmland
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. march — the month
  9. field — for sport
  10. sharp — clever
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. stand — to bear
  15. field — a subject
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. march — music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. wake — a trail

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