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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. season — in sport
  4. degree — from a university
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bulb — for light
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. game — a match
  9. root — of a plant
  10. degree — temperature
  11. stock — goods
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — the cause
  14. season — of the year
  15. game — wild animals
  16. degree — an amount
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stock — shares

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