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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: board · ground · mine · ruler · saw · net · tear · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. net — for catching
  3. board — to get on
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ground — a position
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. tear — from crying
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. ground — the earth
  18. tear — to rip
  19. ground — crushed
  20. saw — the tool
  21. board — a committee
  22. spring — of water
  23. tear — from crying
  24. board — a flat piece

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