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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: chest · bulb · field · spring · wake · drill · cabinet · trunk

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. field — for sport
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spring — of water
  7. field — farmland
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. spring — a coil
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. spring — the season
  13. drill — the tool
  14. chest — a box
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. drill — army training
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. field — a subject
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

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