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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. club — a group
  6. field — for sport
  7. game — a match
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. club — for golf
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spring — of water
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. club — for dancing
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. field — a subject
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bulb — for light
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. pitcher — a jug

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