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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. field — for sport
  3. season — in sport
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. key — the most important part
  6. spell — letters
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spell — a short time
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. field — farmland
  12. capital — a city
  13. key — in music
  14. bulb — for light
  15. season — of the year
  16. bulb — for light
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. capital — money
  20. spell — magic
  21. perch — the fish
  22. key — for a lock
  23. hand — help
  24. field — a subject

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