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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 116 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rash — hasty
  3. field — for sport
  4. kick — in football
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. field — farmland
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. field — a subject
  17. rash — a series
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. band — a music group
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bulb — for light
  24. band — a ring

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