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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: pit · pop · chest · trunk · field · bulb · wound · plane

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. bulb — for light
  5. field — for sport
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. field — a subject
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. chest — a box
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pop — to visit
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. chest — of your body
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wound — an injury
  20. plane — a tool
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bulb — for light
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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