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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. field — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bore — to drill
  6. field — a subject
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cold — not warm
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. court — for sport
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bore — to tire
  16. field — farmland
  17. bulb — for light
  18. court — of a king
  19. fine — all right
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lash — to lash out

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