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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. plane — a tool
  3. cell — in biology
  4. fall — the season
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. tube — a container
  7. dip — to sink
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. field — for sport
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. kid — child
  12. bulb — for light
  13. tube — the underground
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cell — a phone
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. field — a subject
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bulb — for light
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. fall — to drop

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