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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. field — a subject
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cap — of ice
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cap — a hat
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bulb — for light
  16. field — farmland
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. kid — child
  20. cap — a lid
  21. field — for sport
  22. plane — a tool
  23. pass — a permit
  24. kid — to tease

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