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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: track · field · bulb · wave · bat · bore · snap · land

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. field — for sport
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bulb — for light
  7. land — a country
  8. bore — to tire
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. track — a song
  14. field — a subject
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. field — farmland
  18. snap — to click
  19. track — a path
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to drill

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