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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. file — a document
  4. field — for sport
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. sharp — clever
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — to drill
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. file — a tool
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. field — farmland
  22. march — the month
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. field — a subject

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