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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 116 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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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: saw · bulb · field · board · net · sharp · cold · branch

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. net — in sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. net — for catching
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. sharp — clever
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. saw — the tool
  13. branch — a division
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. field — a subject
  16. cold — not warm
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. board — to get on
  19. net — after costs
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. board — a committee
  22. saw — the tool
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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