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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: bound · pit · rash · face · clip · bulb · field · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. rash — a series
  4. bound — obliged
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. face — part of the head
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bound — tied together
  11. field — a subject
  12. game — a match
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bulb — for light
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bound — certain
  20. pit — a hole
  21. game — wild animals
  22. face — to confront
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pit — in a race

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