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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 120 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: rush · bulb · wound · straw · spring · squash · field · plane

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. spring — the season
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. field — farmland
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. plane — a tool
  13. spring — a coil
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bulb — for light
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rush — hurry
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. squash — the sport
  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