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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 116 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: bay · field · spring · tube · wind · march · bear · swing

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. tube — the underground
  3. swing — music
  4. spring — of water
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. march — the month
  10. field — for sport
  11. march — music
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. march — the month
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. spring — the season
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. tube — a container
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bear — to put up with

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