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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. branch — a division
  4. hand — in cards
  5. chip — for betting
  6. game — wild animals
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. rule — government
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bulb — for light
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bulb — for light
  15. hand — help
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. game — a match
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. rule — a law
  22. degree — temperature
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. game — a kind of play

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