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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. row — to paddle
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bulb — for light
  10. mate — a friend
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. mate — a partner
  13. squash — to crush
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bulb — for light
  17. field — a subject
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bat — the animal
  23. row — a line
  24. field — for sport

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