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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. net — for catching
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. field — for sport
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. field — a subject
  9. cap — a lid
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. mine — for digging
  17. net — after costs
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cap — of ice
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. cap — a hat
  23. ground — the earth
  24. net — in 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