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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. field — a subject
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bulb — for light
  6. net — in sport
  7. field — for sport
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. field — farmland
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. net — for catching
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. drill — the tool
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. net — after costs

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