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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bear — the animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bulb — for light
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. degree — from a university
  18. scale — size or range
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bat — for baseball

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