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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: track · dip · spring · kid · bulb · scale · field · leaves

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. kid — to tease
  3. track — a path
  4. kid — child
  5. bulb — for light
  6. field — for sport
  7. dip — to sink
  8. spring — the season
  9. track — a song
  10. spring — of water
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. scale — in music
  15. field — a subject
  16. bulb — for light
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. spring — a coil
  23. scale — size or range
  24. field — farmland

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