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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: bulb · game · spring · field · squash · toast · pass · tear

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. toast — bread
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. field — farmland
  6. spring — of water
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bulb — for light
  10. field — a subject
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. field — for sport
  18. pass — a permit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. game — a match
  22. bulb — for light
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. spring — the season

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