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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: hand · bat · field · kick · fall · saw · fine · march

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. fine — high quality
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. field — for sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. saw — the tool
  12. march — the month
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. kick — in football
  18. hand — help
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fine — all right
  24. bat — the animal

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