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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 120 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: track · bass · ruler · field · ground · pop · spring · wound

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. spring — of water
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spring — a coil
  5. field — farmland
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ground — the earth
  8. track — a song
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. track — to keep track
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ground — a position
  14. pop — soda
  15. field — a subject
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. pop — to visit
  19. track — a path
  20. spring — the season
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bass — the fish
  23. field — for sport
  24. pop — music

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