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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: land · press · wave · field · fall · march · leaves · scale

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. land — a country
  3. fall — to drop
  4. scale — size or range
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. field — for sport
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. press — a publisher
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. field — a subject
  16. press — to push
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. field — farmland
  19. land — ground
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. land — to come down
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. press — newspapers

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