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

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. field — farmland
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. plane — a tool
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wind — moving air
  10. field — for sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pitch — completely
  14. field — a subject
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. key — for a lock
  18. plane — an aircraft

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