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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 116 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: bat · key · shower · game · march · field · stand · cabinet

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. shower — to wash
  6. game — a match
  7. key — for a lock
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. march — music
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. field — a subject
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. key — the most important part
  17. shower — rain
  18. march — the month
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. key — in music
  24. march — the month

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