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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 120 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: row · field · drill · hide · game · pop · land · can

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. field — farmland
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. can — to be able to
  4. pop — to visit
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. can — a tin
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. land — to come down
  10. drill — a practice
  11. land — ground
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. game — a match
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. row — to paddle
  19. game — wild animals
  20. land — a country
  21. can — a tin
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  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