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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: suit · bank · field · mine · march · file · content · bat

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. suit — clothes
  3. content — happy
  4. march — the month
  5. suit — in cards
  6. field — for sport
  7. file — a document
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bank — of a river
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. suit — to fit
  13. bank — for money
  14. file — a tool
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. march — music
  18. field — farmland
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. content — the amount
  21. bank — for money
  22. march — the month
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mine — for digging

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