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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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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: field · land · cell · kick · lie · cabinet · scale · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. land — ground
  3. board — a committee
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. field — for sport
  7. scale — size or range
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cell — a phone
  15. field — a subject
  16. cell — in biology
  17. kick — in football
  18. scale — in music
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. board — to get on
  23. field — farmland
  24. kick — with a leg

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