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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. field — for sport
  3. ground — a position
  4. mine — for digging
  5. present — the time now
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. present — a gift
  9. ground — the earth
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. drill — a practice
  12. court — of law
  13. drill — army training
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. pit — in a race
  18. present — there
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — for sport
  21. drill — the tool
  22. ground — crushed
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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