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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. present — the time now
  6. field — a subject
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. field — for sport
  9. present — a gift
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. wax — to grow
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. present — there
  20. scale — in music
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. plane — a tool
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. file — a line of people

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