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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. field — for sport
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mine — for digging
  9. dip — to sink
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. field — a subject
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. field — farmland
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. spring — of water
  24. fan — to cool the air

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