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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. sharp — clever
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bulb — for light
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. field — a subject
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. field — for sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bowl — a football final

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