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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: season · mine · lie · field · ball · stick · current · saw

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. ball — a great time
  2. field — farmland
  3. current — electric
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. field — for sport
  10. ball — a dance
  11. season — in sport
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. saw — the tool
  14. season — of the year
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. field — a subject
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lie — to recline
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. lie — an untruth
  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