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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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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: bulb · bear · can · field · bore · kid · pit · cell

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bore — to tire
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. can — a tin
  9. bulb — for light
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bore — to drill
  12. cell — a phone
  13. can — a tin
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pit — in a race
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. kid — child

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