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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spell — a short time
  4. shower — to wash
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. field — a subject
  10. season — of the year
  11. spell — magic
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. shower — rain
  16. rush — hurry
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bulb — for light
  19. spell — letters
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. field — for sport
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rush — to hurry

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