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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: bulb · spring · wound · present · pitcher · rush · band · face

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. 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. bulb — for light
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. face — to confront
  6. band — a music group
  7. face — part of the head
  8. band — a ring
  9. present — there
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. spring — the season
  13. wound — an injury
  14. present — the time now
  15. bulb — for light
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rush — hurry
  18. face — to point toward
  19. present — a gift
  20. spring — of water
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. 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