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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 124 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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. wake — a trail
  3. field — farmland
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. spring — the season
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. field — for sport
  8. pound — a weight
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. spring — of water
  13. band — a music group
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. charge — in control
  16. stand — to bear
  17. wind — moving air
  18. charge — a price
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. charge — electricity
  22. field — a subject
  23. band — a ring
  24. pound — to hit hard

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