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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pound — a weight
  4. field — farmland
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cap — a lid
  8. field — a subject
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. field — for sport
  15. vault — a safe
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mine — for digging
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bat — the animal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cap — a hat
  24. mine — belonging to me

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