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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. field — farmland
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bulb — for light
  5. field — for sport
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. spring — of water
  8. mine — for digging
  9. ground — a position
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. spring — the season
  13. ground — crushed
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mug — to rob
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. mug — a face
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pitch — completely
  22. shower — to wash
  23. ground — the earth
  24. shower — rain

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