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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. band — a music group
  4. spring — of water
  5. chip — for betting
  6. wake — a trail
  7. field — a subject
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. field — farmland
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. field — for sport
  23. band — a ring
  24. chip — to eat

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