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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. field — farmland
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cue — a hint
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. foot — a measure
  15. kid — to tease
  16. field — a subject
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. cue — for pool
  22. field — for sport
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bulb — for light

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