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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: shower · mark · wind · field · spring · plane · cap · rock

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. field — a subject
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. rock — music
  7. field — farmland
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. field — for sport
  10. cap — a hat
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rock — a stone
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. mark — a grade
  23. cap — a lid
  24. plane — a tool

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