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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: bear · rush · field · bulb · pound · track · kick · rash

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. bulb — for light
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. track — to keep track
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. track — a path
  14. pound — a weight
  15. rash — a series
  16. track — a song
  17. rush — hurry
  18. field — farmland
  19. bulb — for light
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. rash — hasty
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. pound — for dogs

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