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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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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: chest · field · land · mine · tear · deal · ruler · pound

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chest — a box
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. chest — of your body
  5. deal — to handle
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. field — for sport
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. pound — a weight
  15. field — farmland
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. land — a country
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. chest — of your body
  20. field — a subject
  21. tear — from crying
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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