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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. present — a gift
  3. ground — crushed
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. bank — for money
  7. field — farmland
  8. bank — of a river
  9. land — ground
  10. sharp — clever
  11. ground — a position
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. bank — for money
  19. present — there
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. present — the time now
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bowl — a football final

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