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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: track · lie · wake · mine · chest · field · staff · spring

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chest — a box
  3. wake — a trail
  4. chest — of your body
  5. field — a subject
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. track — to keep track
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. staff — a stick
  10. track — a song
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spring — the season
  13. staff — employees
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lie — to recline
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. spring — a coil
  18. track — a path
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. spring — of water
  24. mine — for digging

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