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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: saw · bat · field · bulb · kid · roll · stem · kick

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  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 — of a plant
  2. field — a subject
  3. roll — a list
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bat — the animal
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. kid — child
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bulb — for light
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. field — for sport
  23. kick — in football
  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