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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: march · field · leaves · tear · pitcher · file · wake · firm

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. field — a subject
  6. march — the month
  7. wake — a trail
  8. tear — to rip
  9. field — farmland
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — decided
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. tear — from crying
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. march — music
  18. tear — from crying
  19. field — for sport
  20. firm — a company
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. file — a tool

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