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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: drill · field · present · ball · pitcher · wound · march · snap

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. drill — a practice
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. march — music
  5. field — farmland
  6. present — there
  7. ball — a great time
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wound — an injury
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. present — a gift
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. field — a subject
  20. march — the month
  21. snap — to click
  22. drill — army training
  23. present — the time now
  24. march — the month

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