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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: nail · shower · ground · pit · land · stand · key · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. field — farmland
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — in music
  10. land — to come down
  11. pit — a hole
  12. field — for sport
  13. ground — crushed
  14. land — ground
  15. ground — a position
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. stand — to bear
  18. shower — rain
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. shower — to wash
  21. ground — the earth
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. land — a country
  24. nail — for a hammer

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