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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kid — child
  4. bulb — for light
  5. prune — to trim
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. field — for sport
  10. spell — a short time
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. spell — letters
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. spell — magic
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pound — a weight
  21. spring — a coil
  22. field — a subject
  23. prune — to trim
  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