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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: mark · pop · dip · march · tube · net · rash · field

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. tube — the underground
  4. pop — music
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. net — after costs
  7. field — for sport
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. pop — soda
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. field — farmland
  12. tube — a container
  13. pop — to visit
  14. rash — a series
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. mark — a grade
  18. rash — hasty
  19. field — a subject
  20. net — in sport
  21. dip — to sink
  22. march — the month
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. net — for catching

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