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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: field · spring · mine · track · chair · season · roll · nail

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a song
  5. spring — of water
  6. field — a subject
  7. spring — a coil
  8. roll — a list
  9. season — in sport
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. roll — a cake
  12. spring — the season
  13. field — for sport
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chair — a leader
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. season — of the year
  19. field — farmland
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. mine — for digging
  23. track — a path
  24. nail — on a finger

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