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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: bowl · wave · field · staff · fall · squash · march · stick

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. march — the month
  4. field — for sport
  5. staff — employees
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. field — farmland
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. squash — to crush
  14. march — music
  15. staff — employees
  16. squash — the sport
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. field — a subject
  22. march — the month
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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