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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 116 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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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: bark · bulb · field · spring · racket · band · drill · can

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spring — of water
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. field — a subject
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. drill — army training
  10. band — a music group
  11. can — a tin
  12. field — farmland
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. can — to be able to
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bulb — for light
  17. spring — a coil
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. can — a tin
  20. field — for sport
  21. drill — a practice
  22. spring — the season
  23. bulb — for light
  24. racket — for tennis

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