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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: mate · pit · swing · game · clip · spring · field · bulb

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. game — wild animals
  3. swing — music
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — in a race
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. spring — of water
  10. clip — a video
  11. bulb — for light
  12. spring — the season
  13. mate — to breed
  14. field — farmland
  15. clip — to cut
  16. swing — to play on
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — a friend
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bulb — for light
  22. swing — in golf
  23. game — a match
  24. field — for sport

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