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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mark — a grade
  3. field — a subject
  4. spring — of water
  5. mark — a trace
  6. capital — a city
  7. spring — the season
  8. capital — money
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bank — for money
  12. spring — a coil
  13. file — a line of people
  14. field — for sport
  15. bank — of a river
  16. stand — to bear
  17. bank — for money
  18. file — a tool
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. field — farmland
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. file — a document
  24. mine — an explosive

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