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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: bulb · mine · object · roll · file · rush · field · season

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. file — a tool
  3. object — an aim
  4. bulb — for light
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. season — of the year
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bulb — for light
  9. roll — a cake
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. field — farmland
  13. file — a document
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. roll — a list
  21. object — a thing
  22. rush — hurry
  23. mine — for digging
  24. file — a line of people

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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