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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spring — of water
  6. file — a tool
  7. spring — a coil
  8. file — a document
  9. chip — for betting
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. spring — the season
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wax — to grow
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. stand — to bear
  20. band — a music group
  21. file — a line of people
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. stand — for spectators

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