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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. stock — shares
  3. field — for sport
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. swing — to play on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. field — a subject
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stock — goods
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a grade
  16. chair — a leader
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bulb — for light
  19. field — farmland
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wax — to grow
  22. kid — child
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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