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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. drill — the tool
  3. field — a subject
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. staff — a stick
  10. ground — a position
  11. stand — to bear
  12. staff — employees
  13. drill — army training
  14. ground — the earth
  15. field — farmland
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — for sport
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. staff — employees
  23. game — a match
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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