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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. field — for sport
  3. race — the arms race
  4. drill — the tool
  5. race — humankind
  6. stock — shares
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. race — a contest
  9. row — a line
  10. field — a subject
  11. march — the month
  12. field — farmland
  13. march — the month
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. drill — a practice
  17. row — to paddle
  18. stock — goods
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. march — music
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a car

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