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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: ball · wound · scale · field · club · charge · mine · land

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. land — ground
  3. wound — an injury
  4. land — to come down
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. charge — in control
  7. charge — a price
  8. scale — size or range
  9. club — a group
  10. mine — for digging
  11. club — for dancing
  12. field — farmland
  13. charge — electricity
  14. land — a country
  15. field — for sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. club — for golf
  21. field — a subject
  22. wound — an injury
  23. scale — in music
  24. ball — a great time

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