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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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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: field · perch · nail · calf · pop · rush · spell · spring

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. spell — a short time
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. spring — a coil
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. pop — to visit
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spring — of water
  18. pop — music
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. perch — the fish
  21. pop — soda
  22. field — a subject
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spring — the season

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