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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bulb — for light
  3. field — a subject
  4. swing — in golf
  5. club — a group
  6. swing — music
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. field — farmland
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. field — for sport
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — for golf
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. tube — a container
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. swing — to play on
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — child

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