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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 120 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: net · chip · clip · bulb · mate · field · bear · perch

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. mate — to breed
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bear — the animal
  7. chip — to eat
  8. field — for sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. net — after costs
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chip — for betting
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. net — in 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