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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. field — for sport
  4. bulb — for light
  5. date — the fruit
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — certain
  12. snap — to click
  13. saw — the tool
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bound — tied together
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. field — a subject
  21. toast — bread
  22. bulb — for light
  23. field — farmland
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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