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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. field — for sport
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. field — farmland
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. field — a subject
  13. rule — a law
  14. swing — music
  15. board — to get on
  16. rule — government
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bulb — for light

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