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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: board · ball · march · can · bear · field · game · hand

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bear — the animal
  3. can — a tin
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. march — the month
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. field — farmland
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a committee
  10. can — to be able to
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. game — a match
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bear — the animal
  15. ball — a great time
  16. can — a tin
  17. field — a subject
  18. hand — in cards
  19. field — for sport
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. hand — help
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. march — music

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