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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: march · bore · firm · spell · game · field

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. spell — a short time
  3. firm — decided
  4. spell — magic
  5. field — a subject
  6. march — the month
  7. bore — to drill
  8. march — the month
  9. field — for sport
  10. spell — letters
  11. march — music
  12. field — farmland
  13. firm — a company
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bore — to tire

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