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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: lie · field · chest · cold · bulb · club · spell · wind

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spell — a short time
  6. lie — to recline
  7. field — farmland
  8. club — for golf
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spell — letters
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. club — for dancing
  20. field — a subject
  21. spell — magic
  22. club — a group
  23. field — for sport
  24. lie — an untruth

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