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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 116 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: present · band · hand · spring · lie · bore · field · snap

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — to recline
  3. field — a subject
  4. spring — of water
  5. field — farmland
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. spring — the season
  8. present — there
  9. band — a ring
  10. present — the time now
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. present — a gift
  13. bore — to tire
  14. snap — to click
  15. bore — to drill
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. hand — help
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. band — a music group
  20. field — for sport
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lie — an untruth

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