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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. field — for sport
  6. club — for golf
  7. net — for catching
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. net — after costs
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bulb — for light
  12. club — for dancing
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. field — a subject
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — farmland
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bulb — for light
  20. net — in sport
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cold — not warm
  23. club — a group
  24. prune — to trim

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