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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.

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: game · season · net · fine · land · spring · wound · track

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. spring — of water
  3. season — in sport
  4. track — to keep track
  5. land — ground
  6. track — a song
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. land — a country
  11. track — a path
  12. spring — a coil
  13. net — for catching
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. net — after costs
  16. fine — all right
  17. spring — the season
  18. season — of the year
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fine — high quality
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. net — in sport
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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