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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. track — a path
  4. spring — of water
  5. mate — a partner
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. track — a song
  12. rest — a break
  13. swing — in golf
  14. track — to keep track
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mate — to breed
  17. swing — music
  18. mate — a friend
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. swing — to play on
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. rest — what's left

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