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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: spring · bay · mark · spell · rush · date · ground · field

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  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. spring — of water
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. spell — letters
  4. field — a subject
  5. date — the fruit
  6. spring — the season
  7. spell — a short time
  8. field — farmland
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. field — for sport
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. spell — magic
  17. ground — the earth
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. mark — a grade
  23. date — on the calendar
  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