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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: pop · spring · wave · mine · game · face · march · wound

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. face — to confront
  4. pop — soda
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pop — to visit
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. mine — for digging
  14. spring — a coil
  15. march — music
  16. face — part of the head
  17. game — a match
  18. pop — music
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wound — an injury
  21. face — to point toward
  22. spring — of water
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. mine — belonging to me

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