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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: field · pitcher · mine · ground · game · dip · bowl · mug

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mug — to rob
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. mug — a cup
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. ground — crushed
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mug — a face
  18. game — a match
  19. field — for sport
  20. ground — a position
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. ground — the earth

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