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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 116 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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. ground — a position
  4. field — for sport
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. game — wild animals
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. field — farmland
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mark — a grade
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. game — a match
  19. field — a subject
  20. rest — a break
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rest — what's left
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. rest — what's left

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