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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: wound · spring · clip · key · field · lash · cabinet · mate

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spring — of water
  4. key — the most important part
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. field — farmland
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mate — to breed
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. clip — to cut
  13. spring — the season
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. key — in music
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. mate — a friend
  18. clip — for paper
  19. field — a subject
  20. spring — a coil
  21. clip — a video
  22. wound — an injury
  23. key — for a lock
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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