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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 120 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've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. march — the month
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spell — magic
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. field — for sport
  8. tube — a container
  9. field — farmland
  10. bear — the animal
  11. tube — the underground
  12. field — a subject
  13. march — the month
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bear — the animal
  20. spell — letters
  21. capital — money
  22. march — music
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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