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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.

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 · wound · rash · kick · ground · lean · game · march

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. ground — a position
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. ground — crushed
  5. spring — a coil
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ground — the earth
  11. spring — of water
  12. game — wild animals
  13. kick — in football
  14. lean — thin
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. spring — the season
  17. rash — a series
  18. march — the month
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. march — the month
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. march — music
  24. rash — hasty

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