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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: spring · bulb · object · current · field · chest · saw · stick

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. spring — of water
  4. chest — a box
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. current — electric
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. spring — a coil
  16. object — an aim
  17. field — a subject
  18. object — a thing
  19. bulb — for light
  20. spring — the season
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bulb — for light
  24. saw — the tool

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