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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: field · swing · current · last · mine · dip · mate · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. field — a subject
  3. last — finally
  4. field — farmland
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. swing — in golf
  7. mine — for digging
  8. ground — a position
  9. mate — a partner
  10. last — to go on
  11. current — electric
  12. ground — the earth
  13. swing — to play on
  14. current — of water
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. mate — a friend
  19. swing — music
  20. mate — to breed
  21. field — for sport
  22. last — final
  23. current — happening now
  24. mine — an explosive

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