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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: face · game · coach · field · straw · spring · bulb · mine

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. spring — a coil
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spring — of water
  7. field — for sport
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. face — to point toward
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. game — wild animals
  20. spring — the season
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. mine — for digging

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