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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
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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: spring · perch · field · tube · bowl · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. spring — of water
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. field — a subject
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. perch — the fish
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. field — for sport
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. field — farmland
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. spring — the season
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. spring — a coil

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