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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. field — farmland
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. field — for sport
  5. bass — low music
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bass — the fish
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cap — a lid
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. field — a subject
  14. file — a document
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — of ice
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bulb — for light
  24. calf — a young animal

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