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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: key · sharp · field · ground · pound · charge · mate · mark

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. field — for sport
  4. key — the most important part
  5. sharp — clever
  6. mate — to breed
  7. pound — a weight
  8. mate — a partner
  9. key — for a lock
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. ground — crushed
  12. field — farmland
  13. charge — a price
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. mark — a trace
  16. ground — the earth
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. mark — a grade
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. charge — electricity
  21. mate — a friend
  22. ground — a position
  23. charge — in control
  24. field — a subject

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