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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. field — a subject
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. spring — of water
  6. rest — a break
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. field — farmland
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rest — what's left
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. capital — money
  14. field — for sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bulb — for light
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. rush — hurry
  24. spring — the season

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