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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: stick · bass · pitcher · field · squash · ground · lean · land

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. field — a subject
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ground — a position
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bass — low music
  9. field — farmland
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — thin
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. squash — the sport
  14. field — for sport
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. ground — the earth
  17. land — to come down
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. lean — to bend
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. ground — crushed
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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