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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. field — for sport
  3. bound — certain
  4. spring — the season
  5. mark — a grade
  6. wake — a trail
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. wound — an injury
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. hand — help
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bound — obliged
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bound — tied together
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bowl — a dish

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