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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 120 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a face
  3. can — to be able to
  4. file — a tool
  5. ground — crushed
  6. can — a tin
  7. mug — a cup
  8. ground — a position
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. ground — the earth
  12. swing — to play on
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. file — a line of people
  15. field — farmland
  16. land — ground
  17. can — a tin
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — a measure
  20. land — to come down
  21. file — a document
  22. field — a subject
  23. land — a country
  24. field — for sport

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