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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. row — to paddle
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. court — of law
  10. clip — for paper
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. wake — a trail
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. row — a line
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. bulb — for light
  21. field — farmland
  22. clip — a video
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. clip — to cut

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