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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: board · wind · rock · race · ground · jam · field · mine

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. field — a subject
  4. board — to get on
  5. field — farmland
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ground — a position
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. ground — the earth
  10. race — humankind
  11. ground — crushed
  12. rock — a stone
  13. field — for sport
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. race — a contest
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. board — a committee
  19. mine — for digging
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rock — music
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. rock — to move gently

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