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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: object · spell · field · mug · cell · bulb · pitch · bat

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. spell — letters
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. field — for sport
  5. cell — a phone
  6. mug — a face
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. object — an aim
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bat — the animal
  14. object — a thing
  15. pitch — completely
  16. field — farmland
  17. spell — magic
  18. field — a subject
  19. object — to protest
  20. mug — a cup
  21. mug — to rob
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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