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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. spring — the season
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. land — ground
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. spring — of water
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. can — a tin
  15. last — to go on
  16. can — a tin
  17. spring — a coil
  18. can — to be able to
  19. last — finally
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. last — final
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. land — a country
  24. coach — a trainer

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