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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. spring — a coil
  3. firm — a company
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. spring — of water
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wake — a trail
  15. firm — decided
  16. spring — the season
  17. firm — steady
  18. bore — to drill
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. field — farmland
  24. date — on the calendar

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