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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. field — farmland
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. bulb — for light
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — to push
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. bulb — for light
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. mine — for digging
  22. press — newspapers
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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