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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: field · scale · cell · bore · march · file · fan · land

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. land — a country
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. field — for sport
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cell — a phone
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. field — farmland
  14. file — a document
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a tool
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. march — the month
  20. field — a subject
  21. march — music
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. file — a line of people
  24. scale — size or range

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