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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 116 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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. field — farmland
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. ground — a position
  9. field — for sport
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stand — to bear
  16. band — a ring
  17. game — a match
  18. ground — crushed
  19. field — a subject
  20. band — a music group
  21. wound — an injury
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. wound — an injury

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