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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 116 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: mine · field · ground · firm · mug · cold · fall · file

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ground — the earth
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mug — a cup
  6. field — farmland
  7. ground — crushed
  8. cold — not warm
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mug — a face
  12. firm — steady
  13. file — a document
  14. mug — to rob
  15. firm — decided
  16. field — for sport
  17. firm — a company
  18. field — a subject
  19. fall — the season
  20. ground — a position
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cold — an illness
  24. file — a tool

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