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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
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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: hide · bass · field · court · chair · march · present · band

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. field — farmland
  4. court — of a king
  5. bass — the fish
  6. band — a ring
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bass — low music
  9. present — there
  10. march — music
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. march — the month
  13. chair — a leader
  14. march — the month
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. present — a gift
  18. court — for sport
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. court — of law
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. present — the time now
  24. chair — to sit on

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