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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: land · tube · bulb · club · hand · drill · rush · field

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. club — for golf
  4. drill — the tool
  5. club — for dancing
  6. drill — army training
  7. bulb — for light
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. rush — hurry
  13. land — ground
  14. tube — a container
  15. hand — help
  16. bulb — for light
  17. club — a group
  18. drill — a practice
  19. tube — the underground
  20. field — a subject
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. land — a country
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. land — to come down

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