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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: mine · spring · ground · can · lie · band · pitch · craft

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. pitch — completely
  3. spring — of water
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. spring — the season
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. band — a music group
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. can — to be able to
  12. craft — boats
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. mine — for digging
  16. craft — a skill
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. can — a tin
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. can — a tin
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. band — a ring
  23. ground — the earth
  24. spring — a coil

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