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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: march · jam · swing · field · prune · rash · stand · bat

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. field — a subject
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. rash — a series
  9. field — farmland
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bat — the animal
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. swing — to play on
  17. march — music
  18. stand — to bear
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. swing — music
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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