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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. kid — to tease
  5. field — farmland
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bound — tied together
  9. field — for sport
  10. swing — music
  11. field — a subject
  12. land — ground
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. land — a country
  15. bound — certain
  16. fall — the season
  17. land — to come down
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bulb — for light
  24. kid — child

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