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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bulb — for light
  4. spring — the season
  5. can — a tin
  6. field — for sport
  7. can — to be able to
  8. field — farmland
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. can — a tin
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. field — a subject
  16. drill — a practice
  17. spring — of water
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stock — shares
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bulb — for light
  22. stock — goods
  23. drill — army training
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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