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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: spring · mate · racket · hide · field · jam · net · mark

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spring — the season
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mate — a friend
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. field — farmland
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. net — in sport
  15. mark — a trace
  16. field — for sport
  17. spring — a coil
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. spring — of water
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. field — a subject

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