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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kid — to tease
  12. wake — a trail
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. suit — in cards
  17. kid — child
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. field — for sport
  21. suit — to fit
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. cold — an illness
  24. suit — clothes

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