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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: racket · scale · cabinet · field · mark · stem · march · game

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. march — music
  4. game — wild animals
  5. march — the month
  6. field — for sport
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. field — farmland
  10. march — the month
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. field — a subject
  16. scale — in music
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mark — a grade
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mark — a trace

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