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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 124 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. swing — in golf
  3. field — a subject
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wind — moving air
  7. track — a song
  8. spring — of water
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. field — farmland
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pound — a weight
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. track — a path
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. swing — to play on
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. swing — music
  24. field — for sport

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