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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 124 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
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: bulb · hand · wind · trunk · arm · field · fork · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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. spring — of water
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. spring — the season
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bulb — for light
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bulb — for light
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wind — moving air
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. field — farmland
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. trunk — of a car
  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