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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. object — to protest
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. field — a subject
  6. bat — the animal
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ground — crushed
  10. dip — to sink
  11. object — an aim
  12. field — farmland
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. field — for sport
  17. object — a thing
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. ground — the earth
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. ground — a position
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — tied together

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