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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ground · march · lean · file · field · season · spell · bulb

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — thin
  6. bulb — for light
  7. ground — the earth
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. march — music
  11. ground — a position
  12. march — the month
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. file — a tool
  16. field — farmland
  17. march — the month
  18. bulb — for light
  19. ground — crushed
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. season — in sport
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. spell — magic

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