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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: tube · march · bay · cabinet · spring · field · pitch · cell

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. field — for sport
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. march — the month
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. march — music
  8. tube — the underground
  9. pitch — completely
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. march — the month
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tube — a container
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. spring — the season
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. cell — in a prison

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