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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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: coach · land · bulb · wound · spell · rush · pitcher · mine

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bulb — for light
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — to come down
  8. bulb — for light
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wound — an injury
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — magic
  16. land — a country
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. rush — hurry
  24. spell — letters

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