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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. hand — in cards
  3. band — a ring
  4. field — for sport
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spring — a coil
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mark — a grade
  9. field — a subject
  10. spring — the season
  11. field — farmland
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. spring — of water
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. suit — in cards
  18. suit — to fit
  19. wax — to grow
  20. hand — help
  21. suit — clothes
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. band — a music group
  24. mark — to pay attention

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