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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. field — farmland
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — employees
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bulb — for light
  9. land — ground
  10. current — of water
  11. staff — a stick
  12. field — for sport
  13. lean — to bend
  14. current — happening now
  15. land — a country
  16. lean — thin
  17. land — to come down
  18. bulb — for light
  19. field — a subject
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. current — electric
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bulb — of a plant

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