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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: field · game · drill · bat · firm · wax · patient · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. drill — army training
  3. firm — steady
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. firm — decided
  8. march — the month
  9. field — for sport
  10. bat — the animal
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. drill — the tool
  13. field — farmland
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. game — a match
  21. march — the month
  22. firm — a company
  23. field — a subject
  24. drill — a practice

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