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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 · stick · cabinet · ground · land · field · sharp · roll

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. roll — a cake
  3. ground — the earth
  4. field — a subject
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. ground — crushed
  8. roll — a list
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. ground — a position
  14. field — for sport
  15. land — ground
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. land — to come down
  18. march — music
  19. land — a country
  20. field — farmland
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. sharp — clever
  24. cabinet — ministers

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