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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. court — of law
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. field — for sport
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. field — farmland
  7. file — a tool
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — a law
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. date — the fruit
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. file — a line of people
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bulb — for light
  20. field — a subject
  21. file — a document
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — to 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