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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 120 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: mug · stand · hide · march · content · drill · field · can

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mug — a face
  3. can — to be able to
  4. mug — a cup
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. can — a tin
  8. field — for sport
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. march — the month
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. content — the amount
  15. can — a tin
  16. march — music
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. march — the month
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mug — to rob
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — for spectators

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