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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: wound · tube · snap · mark · patient · field · bulb · ball

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. tube — a container
  3. mark — a trace
  4. field — for sport
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. field — farmland
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ball — a great time
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bulb — for light
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. field — a subject
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. mark — a grade
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bulb — for light
  24. snap — to click

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