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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — farmland
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bass — low music
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. field — a subject
  7. bound — obliged
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. march — the month
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bound — certain
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bass — the fish
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. march — music
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kid — child
  24. field — for sport

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