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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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. calf — a young animal
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. band — a ring
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. band — a music group
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. field — farmland
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bass — the fish
  20. drill — army training
  21. bass — low music
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. spring — a coil

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