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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: bulb · spring · pop · pitch · mine · object · squash · chest

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spring — the season
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pop — music
  6. chest — a box
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pop — to visit
  9. spring — of water
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spring — a coil
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — completely
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. object — to protest
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pop — soda
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. object — a thing

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