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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · land · drill · field · safe · game

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. game — wild animals
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. mate — to breed
  9. land — a country
  10. mate — a friend
  11. land — ground
  12. drill — a practice
  13. field — a subject
  14. mate — a partner
  15. game — a match
  16. drill — army training
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. drill — the tool

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