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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. mine — for digging
  4. saw — the tool
  5. dip — to sink
  6. rule — government
  7. pitch — completely
  8. rule — a law
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. row — to paddle
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. row — a line
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. field — for sport
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — a division
  21. saw — the tool
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. mine — belonging to me

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