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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 120 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: field · foot · pass · fan · march · hand · deal · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. field — a subject
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. hand — in cards
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. field — for sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — help
  15. pass — a permit
  16. march — music
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — farmland
  20. deal — to handle
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. march — the month
  24. pass — to spend time

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