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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 120 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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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: march · face · fall · bay · pitcher · field · chair · bank

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. bank — for money
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. field — farmland
  12. march — the month
  13. bank — for money
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bank — of a river
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. field — for sport
  22. face — part of the head
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. field — a subject

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