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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: board · foot · march · arm · field · coach · tear · wake

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. march — the month
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. march — the month
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. field — for sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. tear — from crying
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. board — a committee
  19. march — music
  20. board — to get on
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. tear — to rip
  24. coach — a trainer

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