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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. chip — for betting
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. bear — the animal
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. chip — to eat
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cell — in biology
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. capital — money
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — for light
  16. stand — to bear
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bear — the animal
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cell — a phone
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. capital — a city
  24. squash — to crush

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