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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. spring — the season
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. bat — the animal
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. field — farmland
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — in music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. field — for sport
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. spring — of water
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. pop — music
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. pop — soda
  22. field — a subject
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hide — to keep secret

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