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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 124 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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rock — music
  3. kid — to tease
  4. field — farmland
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. pound — a weight
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. rock — a stone
  13. bulb — for light
  14. stock — shares
  15. swing — music
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. track — a song
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. kid — child
  21. swing — to play on
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a path
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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