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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. field — for sport
  3. pop — to visit
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. field — a subject
  6. mine — for digging
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. field — farmland
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pop — soda
  12. pitch — completely
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. roll — a cake
  17. land — to come down
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. pop — music
  20. foot — a measure
  21. roll — a list
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. roll — on a roll

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