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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: lash · band · face · bulb · rock · degree · field · land

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rock — a stone
  3. field — farmland
  4. land — ground
  5. face — part of the head
  6. field — for sport
  7. degree — from a university
  8. band — a ring
  9. face — to confront
  10. bulb — for light
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. land — to come down
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. band — a music group
  18. face — to point toward
  19. field — a subject
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. land — a country
  22. rock — music
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — an eyelash

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