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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: foot · mine · can · field · present · jam · land · race

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. land — ground
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. can — to be able to
  5. field — a subject
  6. race — humankind
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. field — farmland
  9. present — a gift
  10. foot — a measure
  11. race — the arms race
  12. can — a tin
  13. field — for sport
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. land — a country
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. present — there
  19. race — a contest
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. can — a tin
  23. land — to come down
  24. present — the time now

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