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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: band · field · roll · board · wind · spring · snap · mouse

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. band — a ring
  7. roll — a cake
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. field — a subject
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spring — the season
  14. field — farmland
  15. roll — a list
  16. snap — to click
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. board — to get on
  20. field — for sport
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. board — a committee
  23. spring — of water
  24. band — a music group

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