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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bulb — for light
  3. track — a song
  4. tube — the underground
  5. field — a subject
  6. tube — a container
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. track — to keep track
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. file — a document
  14. pit — in a race
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. pit — a hole
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. field — farmland
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. field — for sport
  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