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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: field · rule · band · deal · foot · dip · land · mine

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rule — a law
  3. foot — a measure
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. field — a subject
  7. mine — for digging
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. dip — to sink
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. rule — government
  16. field — for sport
  17. band — a music group
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. band — a ring
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. field — farmland
  24. deal — to handle

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