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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. track — a song
  8. stand — to bear
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. game — a match
  15. bat — the animal
  16. track — a path
  17. chip — to eat
  18. track — to keep track
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. spring — the season
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bowl — a football final

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