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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 120 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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. field — farmland
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. plane — a tool
  5. object — to protest
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. object — an aim
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. drill — a practice
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. drill — army training
  15. object — a thing
  16. swing — music
  17. field — a subject
  18. bulb — for light
  19. kid — child
  20. field — for sport
  21. kid — to tease
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. drill — the tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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