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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: ground · shower · net · rule · sharp · field · row · fan

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. field — for sport
  4. sharp — clever
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. rule — government
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. shower — to wash
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. shower — rain
  13. net — in sport
  14. row — to paddle
  15. ground — crushed
  16. field — a subject
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. field — farmland
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. rule — a law
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. row — a line
  24. ground — a position

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