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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: wound · file · press · spell · net · march · key · bulb

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. press — to push
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bulb — for light
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. key — in music
  10. march — the month
  11. spell — a short time
  12. file — a document
  13. net — after costs
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wound — an injury
  18. press — a publisher
  19. net — in sport
  20. spell — magic
  21. march — music
  22. net — for catching
  23. march — the month
  24. spell — letters

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