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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. field — farmland
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. key — the most important part
  5. field — a subject
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — certain
  10. spell — magic
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. spell — letters
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. rash — hasty
  16. squash — to crush
  17. key — for a lock
  18. field — for sport
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bulb — for light
  21. key — in music
  22. rash — a series
  23. bulb — for light
  24. squash — the vegetable

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