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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: cap · mine · foot · file · rush · spring · ground · chest

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. spring — of water
  5. file — a document
  6. cap — a hat
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. foot — a measure
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. file — a tool
  11. cap — of ice
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ground — the earth
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. ground — crushed
  17. cap — a lid
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. file — a line of people
  22. spring — the season
  23. ground — a position
  24. rush — hurry

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