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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: file · band · object · land · cabinet · rush · ground · field

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. land — ground
  3. ground — a position
  4. field — for sport
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. object — a thing
  7. file — a line of people
  8. ground — the earth
  9. field — a subject
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. object — an aim
  13. land — to come down
  14. file — a document
  15. field — farmland
  16. object — to protest
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. land — a country
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. file — a tool
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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