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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. lean — thin
  6. mine — for digging
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. chip — to eat
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bulb — for light
  13. field — farmland
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bass — the fish
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — to bend

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