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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: stand · present · march · lie · season · bank · content · field

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. field — a subject
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. present — there
  7. march — the month
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. content — the amount
  16. present — a gift
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. stand — to bear
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — for money
  22. present — the time now
  23. season — in sport
  24. bank — of a river

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