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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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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: march · chest · mate · wake · field · pitch · bay · fine

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. march — the month
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. field — a subject
  11. fine — high quality
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. chest — a box
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. pitch — completely
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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