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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a tool
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. cap — a hat
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. track — a path
  15. rock — music
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cap — of ice
  18. spring — a coil
  19. file — a line of people
  20. track — a song
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. cap — a lid
  23. rock — a stone
  24. arm — a part of something

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