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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: row · mouse · snap · kid · field · ruler · bulb · bat

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. field — for sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. kid — to tease
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bulb — for light
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. field — a subject
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. field — farmland
  16. kid — child
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bulb — for light
  20. snap — to click
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. row — a line
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. row — to paddle

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