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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · mine · ball · mate · mouse · nail · field · ground

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mate — to breed
  6. kid — child
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mate — a partner
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ball — a dance
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. field — farmland
  22. ground — a position
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — the animal

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