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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bulb — for light
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bulb — for light
  9. roll — a list
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. bore — to drill
  13. roll — a cake
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. field — farmland
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. field — for sport
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. field — a subject
  21. date — the fruit
  22. pitch — completely
  23. stock — shares
  24. pitch — a sports field

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