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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cold — an illness
  8. scale — in music
  9. board — to get on
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. chip — to eat
  12. plane — a tool
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. degree — from a university
  18. board — a committee
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. scale — size or range
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chip — for betting
  24. mine — for digging

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