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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 116 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: track · march · field · content · present · hand · tear · staff

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. march — the month
  3. staff — employees
  4. present — the time now
  5. tear — to rip
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hand — help
  9. present — a gift
  10. staff — a stick
  11. present — there
  12. field — a subject
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. field — for sport
  16. track — a song
  17. staff — employees
  18. field — farmland
  19. tear — from crying
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. hand — in cards
  23. track — a path
  24. track — to keep track

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