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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: mine · chair · field · safe · cue · snap · land · scale

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. cue — for pool
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. cue — a signal
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cue — a hint
  17. land — to come down
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. snap — to click
  21. land — ground
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. land — a country
  24. mine — belonging to me

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