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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. game — a match
  5. bulb — for light
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. track — a path
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. field — farmland
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. track — a song
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. game — wild animals
  21. track — to keep track
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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