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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spring — the season
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. field — for sport
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. chip — for betting
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. calf — of the leg

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