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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 · mine · saw · wound · ground · fine · nail · plane

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. ground — crushed
  3. plane — a tool
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. ground — the earth
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fine — high quality
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — all right
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ground — a position
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. field — for sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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