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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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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: wake · rock · field · charge · spring · cap · bulb · trunk

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. spring — of water
  4. cap — of ice
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. rock — a stone
  8. field — farmland
  9. spring — the season
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. spring — a coil
  13. field — for sport
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — electricity
  17. rock — music
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — for light
  21. field — a subject
  22. cap — a hat
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cap — a lid

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