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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. spell — a short time
  5. field — for sport
  6. firm — a company
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. last — finally
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. fork — in a road
  11. firm — decided
  12. spell — letters
  13. firm — steady
  14. bulb — for light
  15. last — final
  16. dip — to sink
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mine — for digging
  20. spell — magic
  21. last — to go on
  22. bulb — for light
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. mine — belonging to me

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