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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. toast — bread
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — letters
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bulb — for light
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. spell — a short time
  14. clip — for paper
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. field — for sport
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. bulb — for light
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. field — a subject
  24. bulb — of a plant

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