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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: field · wound · chip · date · march · rock · mug · last

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chip — for betting
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. march — music
  8. mug — to rob
  9. wound — an injury
  10. march — the month
  11. rock — a stone
  12. last — final
  13. march — the month
  14. date — the fruit
  15. mug — a face
  16. field — a subject
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. field — for sport
  20. chip — to eat
  21. mug — a cup
  22. field — farmland
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. date — on the calendar

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