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

Word bank: bulb · capital · foot · field · jam · snap · cell · net

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bulb — for light
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. net — after costs
  13. capital — a city
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. net — for catching
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. cell — a phone
  19. capital — money
  20. field — for sport
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. foot — a measure
  23. net — in sport
  24. bulb — for light

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