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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spell · bulb · leaves · wind · rash · pitcher · ground · arm

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. spell — letters
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spell — magic
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bulb — for light
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. ground — a position
  17. rash — a series
  18. spell — a short time
  19. ground — crushed
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rash — hasty
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. bulb — of a plant

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