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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. race — a contest
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. ground — crushed
  8. field — for sport
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. field — a subject
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. race — the arms race
  18. ground — a position
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. race — humankind

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