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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. spring — of water
  3. land — to come down
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. field — for sport
  6. last — to go on
  7. spring — a coil
  8. field — farmland
  9. content — the amount
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. spring — the season
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. content — happy
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. club — for dancing
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — in a race
  24. field — a subject

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