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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pound · bulb · face · fan · field · mine · snap · trunk

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. pound — a weight
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. face — to confront
  6. field — for sport
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. field — a subject
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. field — farmland
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bulb — for light
  20. face — to point toward
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. snap — to click
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mine — an explosive

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