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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: fan · squash · march · patient · board · pit · field · drill

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. march — the month
  3. squash — the sport
  4. drill — army training
  5. pit — a hole
  6. board — a committee
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. squash — to crush
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. march — the month
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. field — a subject
  16. board — to get on
  17. drill — a practice
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. march — music
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. field — farmland
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. drill — the tool

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