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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hide · spring · snap · patient · ball · wind · track · file

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. ball — a dance
  5. file — a line of people
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. snap — to click
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. spring — of water
  12. file — a document
  13. track — a path
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. file — a tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. track — to keep track
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. track — a song
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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