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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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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bass — low music
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. degree — from a university
  18. game — wild animals

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