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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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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. ground — the earth
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. track — a path
  5. file — a line of people
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mine — for digging
  8. ground — a position
  9. spring — of water
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. file — a tool
  13. kid — child
  14. track — a song
  15. mark — a trace
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. track — to keep track
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. file — a document
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. kid — to tease

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