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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. field — farmland
  3. ground — crushed
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — in football
  6. field — a subject
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. field — for sport
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. land — ground
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. land — a country
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. court — of a king
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  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