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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. spring — the season
  5. fine — all right
  6. field — a subject
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. spring — of water
  10. field — farmland
  11. board — a committee
  12. field — for sport
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. board — to get on
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. fine — high quality
  22. stand — to bear
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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