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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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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: ball · chair · stand · pound · land · march · mate · bowl

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pound — a weight
  4. march — the month
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. ball — a great time
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. ball — a dance
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — on your feet

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