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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. field — for sport
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. chest — of your body
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. spell — magic
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. row — to paddle
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — an aim
  13. bulb — for light
  14. chest — of your body
  15. object — a thing
  16. field — a subject
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. bulb — for light
  19. row — a line
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. stand — to bear
  23. field — farmland
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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