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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spring — of water
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. game — a match
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bulb — for light
  16. squash — the sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. squash — to crush
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bulb — for light
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. spring — the season

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