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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bulb — for light
  4. mark — a grade
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. game — a match
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spell — letters
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. spell — a short time
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. game — wild animals
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. field — a subject
  23. mark — a trace
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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