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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 116 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. field — for sport
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a friend
  7. field — farmland
  8. bulb — for light
  9. face — to confront
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. can — a tin
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. face — part of the head
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bulb — for light
  17. field — a subject
  18. mate — a partner
  19. face — to point toward
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. can — to be able to
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. can — a tin

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