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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: wound · march · saw · wake · pop · mug · jam · field

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. march — the month
  3. wound — an injury
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. pop — soda
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pop — to visit
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. field — farmland
  15. pop — music
  16. march — the month
  17. mug — to rob
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wake — a trail
  21. march — music
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. mug — a face

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