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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. net — in sport
  3. race — a contest
  4. spring — of water
  5. field — for sport
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. spring — the season
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. race — the arms race
  11. land — a country
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. present — the time now
  15. pop — music
  16. land — ground
  17. race — humankind
  18. present — there
  19. field — farmland
  20. present — a gift
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pop — to visit
  23. field — a subject
  24. pop — soda

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