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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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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. can — a tin
  3. game — wild animals
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. kick — in football
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. can — to be able to
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. game — a match
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. can — a tin
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. ground — a position
  22. rash — a series
  23. ground — crushed
  24. rash — hasty

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