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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: land · mine · mouse · stem · field · foot · last · ground

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. land — a country
  5. field — for sport
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. last — to go on
  9. field — farmland
  10. last — final
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. land — ground
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. ground — crushed
  19. stem — to come from
  20. ground — a position
  21. field — a subject
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. last — finally
  24. foot — a measure

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