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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: bear · mine · field · lean · key · game · march · saw

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bear — the animal
  3. field — farmland
  4. bear — the animal
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. game — wild animals
  7. lean — to bend
  8. mine — for digging
  9. field — a subject
  10. key — for a lock
  11. saw — the tool
  12. key — in music
  13. lean — thin
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. field — for sport
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. key — the most important part
  23. saw — the tool
  24. march — music

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