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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: dip · shower · field · track · press · spring · wave · ball

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. spring — of water
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. track — a song
  7. shower — to wash
  8. field — farmland
  9. ball — a great time
  10. spring — a coil
  11. track — to keep track
  12. field — for sport
  13. shower — rain
  14. spring — the season
  15. press — to push
  16. press — a publisher
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. press — newspapers
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. track — a path
  24. dip — to sink

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