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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. charge — electricity
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. charge — in control
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. field — a subject
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. march — the month
  20. pop — to visit
  21. march — the month
  22. charge — a price
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bat — in an idiom

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