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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: cold · board · squash · patient · field · net · bulb · foot

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cold — not warm
  3. net — for catching
  4. cold — an illness
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. squash — the sport
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. field — farmland
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — for sport
  12. foot — a measure
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. board — a committee
  16. field — a subject
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. board — to get on
  20. net — in sport
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. bulb — for light
  23. net — after costs
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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