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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. field — a subject
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. spell — magic
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. band — a ring
  10. swing — to play on
  11. band — a music group
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. swing — music
  15. spell — letters
  16. field — farmland
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bulb — for light
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. field — for sport
  24. bark — to shout

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