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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. staff — a stick
  3. tube — a container
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — for catching
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. staff — employees
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. net — in sport
  14. tube — the underground
  15. field — farmland
  16. band — a ring
  17. field — for sport
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wound — an injury
  21. staff — employees
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a music group

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