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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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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: game · field · march · snap · mark · can

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. game — wild animals
  6. march — the month
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. can — a tin
  10. game — a match
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mark — a trace
  13. can — to be able to
  14. field — a subject
  15. can — a tin
  16. snap — to click
  17. field — farmland
  18. game — a kind of play

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