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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: wound · march · sharp · coach · pit · chip · field · jam

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. field — farmland
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. pit — in a race
  13. march — the month
  14. field — a subject
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. wound — an injury
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. chip — for betting
  21. pit — a hole
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. wound — an injury

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