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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. field — for sport
  4. band — a ring
  5. ball — a dance
  6. file — a tool
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. saw — the tool
  10. charge — electricity
  11. file — a line of people
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. charge — a price
  14. field — a subject
  15. charge — in control
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pound — a weight
  18. ground — a position
  19. file — a document
  20. band — a music group
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. saw — the tool
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pound — for dogs

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