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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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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: bowl · field · fine · land · jam · net · staff · pitcher

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. land — to come down
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. field — farmland
  5. land — ground
  6. net — for catching
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. staff — employees
  9. net — after costs
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. field — a subject
  14. fine — high quality
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. field — for sport
  18. fine — all right
  19. staff — a stick
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. net — in sport
  24. land — a country

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