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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · bowl · game · rule · drill · file · land · root

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. drill — the tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. land — a country
  7. drill — army training
  8. rule — a law
  9. march — the month
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. march — the month
  12. file — a document
  13. drill — a practice
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. land — to come down
  18. game — wild animals
  19. land — ground
  20. root — the cause
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. march — music
  23. rule — government
  24. file — a tool

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