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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 · chip · wave · kid · spring · march · mark · ground

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. march — music
  3. mark — a grade
  4. ground — a position
  5. field — farmland
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. field — a subject
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chip — for betting
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. ground — the earth
  14. march — the month
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. spring — a coil
  18. march — the month
  19. chip — to eat
  20. kid — child
  21. field — for sport
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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