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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. club — for golf
  9. track — a song
  10. track — a path
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. spring — a coil
  14. club — for dancing
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. club — a group
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. track — to keep track
  20. lean — thin
  21. mine — for digging
  22. board — a committee
  23. lean — to bend
  24. file — a line of people

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