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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: mine · fall · spell · chip · cap · field · ground · track

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. track — to keep track
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ground — a position
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. track — a path
  9. cap — of ice
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chip — to eat
  14. cap — a hat
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. cap — a lid
  18. field — for sport
  19. track — a song
  20. ground — the earth
  21. fall — the season
  22. mine — for digging
  23. field — farmland
  24. spell — magic

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