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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 116 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. net — after costs
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bore — to drill
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. field — for sport
  7. bulb — for light
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. face — to point toward
  12. clip — a video
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — music
  15. net — for catching
  16. face — to confront
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. clip — for paper
  19. field — a subject
  20. face — part of the head
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. net — in sport
  23. clip — to cut
  24. field — farmland

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