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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 the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. field — for sport
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kid — to tease
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bulb — for light
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. key — for a lock
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. key — the most important part
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. kid — child
  19. field — a subject
  20. cold — not warm
  21. key — in music
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. field — farmland

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