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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · fan · stick · field · root · spring · bulb · date

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. root — the cause
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. swing — in golf
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bulb — for light
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. spring — the season
  14. swing — to play on
  15. field — farmland
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. root — of a plant
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. root — of a word
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. date — the fruit
  22. spring — a coil
  23. swing — music
  24. spring — of water

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