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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. field — farmland
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. club — for golf
  8. land — ground
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. land — a country
  15. wound — an injury
  16. club — a group
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. land — to come down
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. field — a subject
  23. bulb — for light
  24. field — for sport

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