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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: board · bear · ground · bay · hand · track · file · spring

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. file — a tool
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. spring — the season
  7. ground — crushed
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. file — a document
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. hand — help
  12. file — a line of people
  13. track — to keep track
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — to get on
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. track — a path
  18. hand — in cards
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bear — the animal
  21. board — a committee
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. track — a song
  24. bear — the animal

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