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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. rash — hasty
  5. spring — the season
  6. suit — clothes
  7. field — a subject
  8. key — in music
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spring — of water
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. key — for a lock
  16. rash — a series
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. suit — to fit
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chest — a box
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. chest — of your body

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