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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bore — to tire
  4. file — a document
  5. spring — of water
  6. field — a subject
  7. file — a tool
  8. game — a match
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fine — all right
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. field — for sport
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. bore — to drill
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pop — to visit
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. spring — a coil
  23. field — farmland
  24. spring — the season

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