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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: last · nail · chip · march · mine · band · mark · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. mark — a grade
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mark — a trace
  9. spring — the season
  10. last — final
  11. march — the month
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. chip — for betting
  14. band — a ring
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. band — a music group
  17. last — to go on
  18. march — the month
  19. chip — to eat
  20. last — finally
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. mine — for digging
  24. march — music

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