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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. drill — army training
  3. chip — to eat
  4. field — a subject
  5. ground — a position
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ground — crushed
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. drill — the tool
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. roll — a cake
  13. drill — a practice
  14. field — for sport
  15. ground — the earth
  16. saw — the tool
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. perch — the fish
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. roll — a list
  24. perch — for a bird

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