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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 120 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. field — for sport
  4. scale — in music
  5. field — a subject
  6. current — electric
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. current — happening now
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. spring — the season
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. current — of water
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. march — the month
  16. scale — size or range
  17. race — humankind
  18. spring — a coil
  19. race — the arms race
  20. march — music
  21. field — farmland
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. race — a contest
  24. march — the month

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