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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: march · object · land · net · race · field · bowl · cabinet

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — for sport
  3. march — music
  4. race — a contest
  5. object — to protest
  6. race — humankind
  7. field — farmland
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. net — after costs
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. object — a thing
  13. land — ground
  14. field — a subject
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. land — to come down
  19. net — for catching
  20. object — an aim
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. net — in sport
  23. land — a country
  24. march — the month

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