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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. pitch — completely
  3. band — a music group
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. field — farmland
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. spring — the season
  9. staff — employees
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. staff — a stick
  12. rash — a series
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. staff — employees
  16. field — for sport
  17. file — a document
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. file — a tool
  21. field — a subject
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. band — a ring

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