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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.

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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: field · bulb · trunk · ruler · bay · rest · mine · cold

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. rest — what's left
  9. field — farmland
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rest — a break
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bulb — for light
  19. field — a subject
  20. rest — what's left
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. field — for sport
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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