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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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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. hand — help
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. field — farmland
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. wake — a trail
  7. field — a subject
  8. band — a music group
  9. bulb — for light
  10. field — for sport
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. hand — in cards
  14. band — a ring
  15. chip — to eat
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bulb — for light
  18. band — a rubber band

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