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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 · rule · field · cue · mine · march · shower · bay

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cue — a hint
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. field — a subject
  5. rule — government
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cue — for pool
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. cue — a signal
  15. march — the month
  16. field — farmland
  17. mine — for digging
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. field — for sport
  21. march — music
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — the earth
  24. rule — a law

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