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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: rush · bear · kid · field · squash · rest · fall · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bear — the animal
  3. squash — the sport
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. bear — the animal
  9. field — a subject
  10. spring — a coil
  11. field — farmland
  12. kid — child
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rest — what's left
  15. squash — to crush
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. rest — what's left
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. field — for sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. spring — the season
  24. rest — a break

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