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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 · fan · field · ground · roll · bulb · kid · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. field — farmland
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. roll — a cake
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. track — a path
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. track — a song
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. ground — the earth
  17. kid — to tease
  18. field — a subject
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. kid — child
  22. roll — a list
  23. field — for sport
  24. cap — of ice

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