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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: coach · field · patient · ground · toast · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. field — for sport
  7. toast — bread
  8. ground — crushed
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — a subject
  12. ground — a position
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — the month
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. ground — the earth

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