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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cap — of ice
  5. squash — the sport
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bulb — for light
  8. field — a subject
  9. cap — a hat
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. bound — tied together
  15. pass — a permit
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. shower — rain
  19. bound — certain
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. squash — to crush

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