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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. rest — a break
  4. wake — a trail
  5. face — to confront
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rest — what's left
  8. ground — a position
  9. bulb — for light
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. field — for sport
  13. face — part of the head
  14. field — a subject
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. field — farmland
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spell — magic
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. spell — letters
  21. rush — hurry
  22. spell — a short time
  23. face — to point toward
  24. ground — the earth

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