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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. land — ground
  3. ground — crushed
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. ground — the earth
  10. drill — army training
  11. mate — a friend
  12. rush — hurry
  13. drill — the tool
  14. ground — a position
  15. mate — a partner
  16. land — a country
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. last — final
  19. land — to come down
  20. drill — a practice
  21. field — for sport
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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