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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bank — for money
  3. field — a subject
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cold — not warm
  6. ground — crushed
  7. chip — to eat
  8. present — there
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bank — for money
  11. current — of water
  12. field — farmland
  13. current — electric
  14. ground — a position
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chip — for betting
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. present — the time now
  22. current — happening now
  23. field — for sport
  24. bulb — for light

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