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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. net — after costs
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fine — all right
  7. last — final
  8. field — farmland
  9. spring — the season
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. fine — high quality
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. field — a subject
  14. last — finally
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. field — for sport
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. net — in sport
  20. spring — a coil
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wake — a trail
  23. net — for catching
  24. last — to go on

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