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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 120 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. net — in sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. drill — army training
  11. stand — to bear
  12. game — a match
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. ground — crushed
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. field — a subject
  17. drill — the tool
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. ground — a position
  22. field — for sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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