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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 120 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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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 · hide · stick · stand · chair · march · ruler · rock

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. march — the month
  7. stand — to bear
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. chair — a leader
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. field — for sport
  17. rock — music
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. march — music
  23. rock — a stone
  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