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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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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: mouse · ground · key · degree · pit · spell · bulb · field

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. spell — letters
  3. field — for sport
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bulb — for light
  6. ground — the earth
  7. spell — a short time
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. bulb — for light
  11. key — in music
  12. spell — magic
  13. pit — a hole
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pit — in a race
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — a position
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. key — the most important part
  24. mouse — the animal

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