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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: lean · pop · tube · mine · field · face · bark · bulb

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. field — for sport
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pop — music
  6. bark — to shout
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. field — farmland
  11. bulb — for light
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pop — soda
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. face — to confront
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. field — a subject
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bulb — for light
  22. pop — to visit
  23. face — to point toward
  24. tube — a container

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