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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: bat · wound · object · kid · field · snap · bulb · firm

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. firm — steady
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. field — farmland
  5. object — to protest
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — a subject
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. kid — child
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. object — an aim
  12. firm — decided
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. field — for sport
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. firm — a company
  20. snap — to click
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wound — an injury

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