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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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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 · toast · mark · chest · field · march · club · stand

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. board — a committee
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. march — music
  5. field — farmland
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. march — the month
  8. chest — of your body
  9. toast — bread
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. chest — of your body
  13. march — the month
  14. club — a group
  15. board — to get on
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. stand — to bear
  19. mark — a grade
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. chest — a box
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — for dancing

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