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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wound — an injury
  3. field — for sport
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bulb — for light
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. present — there
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. field — farmland
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chair — a leader
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. date — the fruit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. field — a subject
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bat — the animal
  23. present — the time now
  24. temple — a place of worship

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