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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: mine · rest · pop · sharp · ball · field · ground · jam

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — soda
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. pop — music
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. field — farmland
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. field — for sport
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. sharp — clever
  17. mine — for digging
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. ground — crushed
  24. field — a subject

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