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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 116 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: tube · swing · spring · field · face · stem · hide · bear

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. spring — the season
  3. face — part of the head
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. field — for sport
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tube — the underground
  8. field — farmland
  9. swing — music
  10. face — to confront
  11. spring — of water
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. face — to point toward
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. swing — to play on
  19. stem — to come from
  20. tube — a container
  21. bear — the animal
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. field — a subject
  24. bear — the animal

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