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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: march · land · track · board · dip · row · scale · bore

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. track — a song
  3. march — the month
  4. board — a committee
  5. track — a path
  6. land — ground
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. march — music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — in music
  13. board — to get on
  14. dip — to sink
  15. row — a line
  16. bore — to drill
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — size or range
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. land — to come down
  21. track — to keep track
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to tire

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