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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. field — for sport
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. stem — to come from
  5. swing — to play on
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. swing — music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. field — a subject
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. press — to push
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. press — newspapers
  19. scale — in music
  20. bulb — for light
  21. scale — size or range
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. swing — in golf
  24. field — farmland

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