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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. field — farmland
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. season — of the year
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. race — a contest
  9. bank — for money
  10. staff — employees
  11. bound — tied together
  12. season — in sport
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. spring — the season
  17. race — humankind
  18. staff — employees
  19. bound — certain
  20. spring — a coil
  21. staff — a stick
  22. bank — for money
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bank — of a river

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