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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. press — newspapers
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. spring — of water
  7. field — farmland
  8. pop — music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. press — a publisher
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bulb — for light
  14. game — a match
  15. spring — a coil
  16. press — to push
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. ground — a position
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. bark — to shout
  23. ground — crushed
  24. spring — the season

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