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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · field · fall · tube · march · drill · arm · date

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. drill — army training
  3. march — music
  4. field — for sport
  5. fall — to drop
  6. date — the fruit
  7. field — a subject
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. tube — the underground
  10. fall — to drop
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. field — farmland
  13. fall — the season
  14. band — a ring
  15. drill — a practice
  16. march — the month
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. drill — the tool
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. march — the month
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. band — a music group
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. date — on the calendar

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