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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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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: band · cabinet · content · leaves · mate · race · fall · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. content — happy
  4. fall — the season
  5. mate — a partner
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. land — to come down
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mate — to breed
  13. fall — to drop
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. race — the arms race
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. mate — a friend

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