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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: ground · field · roll · march · fine · cold · pass · staff

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. march — music
  3. field — farmland
  4. ground — a position
  5. pass — a permit
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fine — high quality
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. roll — a cake
  13. cold — an illness
  14. roll — a list
  15. staff — employees
  16. march — the month
  17. staff — employees
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. fine — all right
  22. staff — a stick
  23. march — the month
  24. pass — to spend time

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