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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pop — to visit
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pop — music
  8. drill — army training
  9. band — a ring
  10. row — to paddle
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. spring — the season
  15. pop — soda
  16. band — a music group
  17. track — to keep track
  18. drill — the tool
  19. track — a song
  20. drill — a practice
  21. track — a path
  22. row — a line
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. row — a quarrel

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