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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: field · shower · bound · wake · staff · net · fine · march

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. staff — employees
  3. net — for catching
  4. field — for sport
  5. bound — certain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. fine — high quality
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bound — obliged
  14. wake — a trail
  15. net — in sport
  16. shower — rain
  17. field — a subject
  18. net — after costs
  19. fine — all right
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bound — tied together
  24. fine — a penalty

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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