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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: racket · mine · spring · sharp · mug · branch · dip · field

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. field — a subject
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mug — a face
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mine — for digging
  16. branch — a division
  17. spring — the season
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. mug — to rob
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. mug — a cup
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. spring — of water

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