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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: last · squash · stem · march · net · row · board · field

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. march — music
  3. row — to paddle
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. row — a line
  9. stem — to come from
  10. squash — to crush
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — to get on
  16. squash — the sport
  17. board — a committee
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. last — finally
  21. net — after costs
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. last — final
  24. field — for 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