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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 · pit · band · cold · tube · safe · field · toast

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. cold — an illness
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. tube — a container
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. pit — in a race
  10. band — a music group
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. pit — a hole
  13. field — a subject
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. band — a ring
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. field — farmland
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cold — not warm
  23. field — for sport
  24. toast — bread

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