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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. field — a subject
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bound — tied together
  6. field — for sport
  7. ground — the earth
  8. land — to come down
  9. mate — a friend
  10. ground — crushed
  11. field — farmland
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bound — obliged
  15. hand — help
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bound — certain
  18. land — a country
  19. land — ground
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mate — to breed
  22. rule — government
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. rule — a law

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