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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.

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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: lean · fan · racket · mine · last · track · field · spring

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. spring — of water
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. field — for sport
  9. mine — for digging
  10. track — to keep track
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. spring — the season
  14. last — finally
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. track — a song
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. track — a path
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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