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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 120 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. field — for sport
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. mine — for digging
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bear — the animal
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. march — the month
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. march — music
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mark — a trace
  19. swing — music
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. march — the month
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. straw — a straw man

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