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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: spring · band · field · content · mine · cue · kid · pass

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. cue — for pool
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. spring — of water
  7. content — happy
  8. cue — a signal
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pass — a permit
  12. spring — the season
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. field — farmland
  16. kid — child
  17. band — a ring
  18. kid — to tease
  19. band — a music group
  20. cue — a hint
  21. spring — a coil
  22. content — the amount
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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