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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. can — a tin
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. can — a tin
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. field — farmland
  15. rule — a law
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kid — child
  19. file — a tool
  20. can — to be able to
  21. perch — the fish
  22. file — a document
  23. rule — government
  24. field — for sport

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