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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: drill · plane · field · dip · ground · straw · game · ruler

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. field — farmland
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. field — a subject
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. drill — a practice
  9. dip — to sink
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. field — for sport
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — crushed
  20. game — a match
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ground — the earth

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