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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bulb — for light
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. foot — a measure
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. field — a subject
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pass — a permit
  12. field — farmland
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. field — for sport
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. snap — to click
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. date — the fruit
  24. pit — in a race

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