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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. race — humankind
  5. ground — a position
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kid — child
  8. roll — a cake
  9. kid — to tease
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. roll — a list
  13. ground — crushed
  14. field — a subject
  15. race — the arms race
  16. hand — in cards
  17. ground — the earth
  18. race — a contest
  19. field — for sport
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. hand — help
  22. bulb — for light
  23. field — farmland
  24. roll — on a roll

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