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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. present — the time now
  5. land — to come down
  6. mine — for digging
  7. drill — a practice
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. present — there
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. drill — the tool
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bass — low music
  14. present — a gift
  15. drill — army training
  16. plane — a tool
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bass — the fish
  19. land — ground
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. fork — in a road
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. land — a country

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