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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
468
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: track · land · mine · pit · ground · bear · kid · hand

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bear — the animal
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bear — the animal
  7. hand — in cards
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. track — a path
  13. kid — child
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pit — a hole
  16. land — to come down
  17. track — to keep track
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. pit — in a race
  21. hand — help
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. kid — to tease

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