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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: mine · sharp · wound · mate · track · toast · chip · spring

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. toast — bread
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. track — a song
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. sharp — clever
  12. mate — a partner
  13. track — a path
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. track — to keep track
  17. mine — for digging
  18. spring — the season
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. chip — for betting
  21. spring — of water
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. chip — to eat
  24. mine — belonging to me

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