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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stand — to bear
  3. squash — the sport
  4. drill — army training
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. chip — to eat
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. mine — for digging
  11. squash — to crush
  12. plane — a tool
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. chip — for betting
  18. drill — the tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. drill — a practice
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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