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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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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — farmland
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cold — not warm
  7. charge — electricity
  8. field — for sport
  9. charge — in control
  10. charge — a price
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. field — a subject
  13. march — music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. swing — music
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — an illness
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. swing — to play on
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. swing — in golf

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