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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. march — music
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. field — a subject
  11. ground — crushed
  12. degree — temperature
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — the earth
  16. degree — an amount
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. march — the month
  19. ground — a position
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. field — for sport
  22. march — the month
  23. degree — from a university
  24. field — farmland

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