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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 · band · fine · ground · saw · object · field · row

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — all right
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. ground — crushed
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. field — for sport
  11. ground — a position
  12. saw — the tool
  13. band — a music group
  14. ball — a great time
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. object — to protest
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. ground — the earth
  20. row — to paddle
  21. fine — high quality
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — an aim
  24. row — a line

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