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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.

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: rule · mine · pitcher · cell · roll · board · field · calf

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. cell — a phone
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rule — government
  8. roll — a list
  9. board — a committee
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. field — a subject
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. roll — a cake
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. board — to get on
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. rule — a law
  21. field — for sport
  22. cell — in biology
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. mine — for digging

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