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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 116 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: ground · bowl · staff · game · firm · field · file · key

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. field — a subject
  4. staff — employees
  5. firm — a company
  6. staff — a stick
  7. field — farmland
  8. game — a match
  9. file — a tool
  10. key — in music
  11. firm — steady
  12. key — the most important part
  13. file — a document
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. firm — decided
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. ground — a position
  20. key — for a lock
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. staff — employees
  23. file — a line of people
  24. field — for sport

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