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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. spring — a coil
  5. club — for dancing
  6. land — a country
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. stand — to bear
  10. spring — of water
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spring — the season
  14. mate — a friend
  15. field — a subject
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bulb — for light
  18. land — ground
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. club — a group
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. club — for golf
  23. land — to come down
  24. cold — not warm

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