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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.

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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: field · bulb · can · bound · content · spring · hand · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. content — the amount
  3. can — a tin
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bulb — for light
  6. field — a subject
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bound — certain
  9. content — happy
  10. spring — the season
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bound — tied together
  14. hand — in cards
  15. spring — of water
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bulb — for light
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. can — a tin
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. can — to be able to
  24. hand — help

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