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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chair · ball · wound · field · spring · rest · rock · hide

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rock — music
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rest — what's left
  8. spring — a coil
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. spring — of water
  18. ball — a great time
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. spring — the season
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rock — a stone
  23. field — farmland
  24. hide — animal skin

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