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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 120 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: ruler · foot · present · kid · saw · ground · field · mine

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. foot — a measure
  3. ground — the earth
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. present — the time now
  6. field — a subject
  7. present — a gift
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. field — farmland
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. ground — a position
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. present — there
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. kid — to tease
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. kid — child
  23. mine — for digging
  24. foot — the bottom

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