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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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. cold — not warm
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rule — government
  6. stock — shares
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bulb — for light
  10. mate — to breed
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. stock — goods
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — a division
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. field — farmland
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rule — a law

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