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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bulb — for light
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. capital — money
  9. prune — to trim
  10. field — a subject
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. chip — for betting
  21. capital — a city
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bulb — for light

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