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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.

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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: patient · pound · march · lash · spring · pitcher · leaves · bulb

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. march — the month
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. spring — a coil
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. march — music
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. march — the month
  14. spring — the season
  15. bulb — for light
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pound — a weight
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. bulb — for light
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. spring — of water

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