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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. net — after costs
  4. land — a country
  5. field — farmland
  6. land — ground
  7. bulb — for light
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bore — to drill
  10. field — for sport
  11. rule — government
  12. field — a subject
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. land — to come down
  15. bulb — for light
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. march — the month
  21. bore — to tire
  22. net — for catching
  23. toast — bread
  24. rule — a law

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