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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: cell · march · field · fall · lie · club · coach · bass

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — a phone
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. march — the month
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bass — low music
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. lie — to recline
  13. march — the month
  14. club — a group
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fall — to drop
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bass — the fish
  19. club — for golf
  20. march — music
  21. cell — in biology
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. field — for sport
  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