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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bulb — for light
  3. march — music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. march — the month
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. field — a subject
  8. board — to get on
  9. bulb — for light
  10. spell — magic
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. march — the month
  13. bat — the animal
  14. field — for sport
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. squash — the sport
  19. board — a committee
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. spell — letters
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. squash — to crush
  24. spell — a short time

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