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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. spell — letters
  3. field — for sport
  4. land — ground
  5. ground — crushed
  6. spell — a short time
  7. last — final
  8. bear — the animal
  9. field — a subject
  10. land — a country
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spell — magic
  17. last — finally
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cap — a hat
  20. ground — a position
  21. last — to go on
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. field — farmland
  24. land — to come down

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