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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: field · ground · rush · drill · land · game · lash · prune

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. game — a match
  3. ground — a position
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. game — wild animals
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. drill — army training
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. drill — the tool
  10. field — farmland
  11. land — to come down
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. land — ground
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — a subject
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. ground — the earth
  20. prune — to trim
  21. drill — a practice
  22. ground — crushed
  23. field — for sport
  24. land — a country

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