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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. saw — the tool
  3. fine — all right
  4. mate — to breed
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mate — a partner
  13. spell — letters
  14. net — for catching
  15. fine — high quality
  16. bulb — for light
  17. net — in sport
  18. spell — magic
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. mate — a friend
  21. spell — a short time
  22. net — after costs
  23. bulb — for light
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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