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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: nail · saw · wind · pass · squash · spring · mine · track

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spring — the season
  3. track — a path
  4. spring — of water
  5. pass — a permit
  6. squash — to crush
  7. mine — for digging
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. track — a song
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. track — to keep track
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. saw — the tool
  17. squash — the sport
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. spring — a coil
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wind — moving air

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