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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · ground · foot · land · staff · pitcher · object · field

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. object — to protest
  5. staff — employees
  6. march — the month
  7. object — a thing
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. field — for sport
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. field — farmland
  13. foot — a measure
  14. staff — employees
  15. object — an aim
  16. ground — the earth
  17. field — a subject
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. land — ground
  20. march — the month
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ground — a position
  23. march — music
  24. staff — a stick

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