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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 · field · nail · pitch · bore · last · wake · dip

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. last — to go on
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. field — a subject
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pitch — completely
  14. last — final
  15. bore — to drill
  16. march — the month
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bore — to tire
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. dip — to sink
  21. last — finally
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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