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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. saw — the tool
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. land — to come down
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. land — ground
  9. field — for sport
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. mine — for digging
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. scale — in music
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. root — of a plant
  21. land — a country
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a hole
  24. scale — size or range

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