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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: shower · mate · ground · march · can · bowl · field · rule

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. can — to be able to
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. shower — rain
  8. mate — to breed
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. mate — a friend
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. mate — a partner
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. ground — a position
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. field — farmland
  19. march — music
  20. field — a subject
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  24. ground — crushed

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