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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. field — a subject
  3. object — to protest
  4. spring — a coil
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. spring — the season
  7. object — an aim
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pop — soda
  10. clip — a video
  11. object — a thing
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rush — hurry
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. pop — music
  24. rush — to hurry

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