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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fan · wake · field · file · racket · bulb · chair

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. march — the month
  3. field — for sport
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a document
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. chair — a leader
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. file — a line of people
  20. march — the month
  21. bulb — for light
  22. march — music
  23. field — farmland
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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