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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: file · ground · squash · field · staff · chip · sharp · land

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. land — ground
  3. squash — to crush
  4. chip — to eat
  5. sharp — clever
  6. chip — for betting
  7. file — a tool
  8. ground — crushed
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. land — to come down
  11. staff — employees
  12. ground — a position
  13. field — farmland
  14. file — a document
  15. staff — a stick
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. field — a subject
  18. squash — the sport
  19. staff — employees
  20. file — a line of people
  21. field — for sport
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. land — a country
  24. sharp — exactly

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