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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: club · bulb · object · kid · chair · rest · tube · field

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. field — a subject
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. tube — the underground
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. object — to protest
  10. club — a group
  11. chair — a leader
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. kid — child
  14. object — an aim
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. object — a thing
  17. club — for dancing
  18. field — farmland
  19. kid — to tease
  20. club — for golf
  21. tube — a container
  22. rest — a break
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. field — for sport

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