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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chip · leaves · object · field · shower · content · spring · band

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. spring — of water
  4. field — a subject
  5. spring — the season
  6. content — the amount
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. shower — to wash
  9. band — a music group
  10. shower — rain
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. chip — for betting
  15. spring — a coil
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. band — a ring
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — to protest
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. content — happy
  23. object — a thing
  24. chip — to eat

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