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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: spell · rest · field · row · lie · hand · march · spring

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. march — the month
  3. field — for sport
  4. row — a line
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — to recline
  9. field — farmland
  10. spring — the season
  11. spell — letters
  12. row — to paddle
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. spring — a coil
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. march — music
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. field — a subject
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. spring — of water
  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