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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 116 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: field · calf · stand · march · can · clip · season · drill

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. can — a tin
  4. march — the month
  5. drill — army training
  6. can — to be able to
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. drill — a practice
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. field — a subject
  13. can — a tin
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. drill — the tool
  17. field — farmland
  18. stand — to bear
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. march — music
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. march — the month
  23. field — for sport
  24. season — in sport

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