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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: deal · bore · bulb · field · game · date · capital · row

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. field — for sport
  5. row — a line
  6. deal — to handle
  7. game — a match
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bulb — for light
  12. field — a subject
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bore — to tire
  15. capital — money
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. date — the fruit
  18. field — farmland
  19. row — to paddle
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. capital — a city
  22. game — wild animals
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. bulb — of a plant

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