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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: band · march · field · pitch · rash · nail · kid · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. march — the month
  3. pitch — completely
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. field — a subject
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. band — a music group
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. march — the month
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. march — music
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. field — for sport
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. fall — to drop
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. fall — to drop
  24. field — farmland

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