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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.

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 · ruler · rash · mine · chip · cold · field · fan

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chip — to eat
  8. spring — the season
  9. chip — for betting
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. field — for sport
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. field — a subject
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. field — farmland
  17. cold — not warm
  18. spring — of water
  19. rash — a series
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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