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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. net — for catching
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. toast — bread
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. net — in sport
  8. bulb — for light
  9. kid — child
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. net — after costs
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. kid — to tease
  17. field — for sport
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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