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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. row — a line
  3. field — farmland
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bulb — for light
  7. field — a subject
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pound — a weight
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. spring — the season
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. field — for sport
  21. spring — of water
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bat — for baseball

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