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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. court — of law
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. land — a country
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. club — a group
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. field — for sport
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. land — to come down
  14. club — for dancing
  15. court — of a king
  16. fork — in a road
  17. court — for sport
  18. land — ground
  19. bulb — for light
  20. field — a subject
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. club — for golf
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. field — farmland

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