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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: bat · bass · object · game · land · file · bear · field

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. object — to protest
  5. field — farmland
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bass — the fish
  10. field — a subject
  11. file — a document
  12. bear — the animal
  13. object — an aim
  14. land — to come down
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bass — low music
  17. bear — the animal
  18. file — a tool
  19. game — a match
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. land — ground
  23. field — for sport
  24. land — a country

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