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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bulb — for light
  3. spell — magic
  4. cap — of ice
  5. land — to come down
  6. club — for dancing
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bulb — for light
  9. land — ground
  10. cap — a lid
  11. degree — from a university
  12. land — a country
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cap — a hat
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. spell — letters
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spell — a short time
  24. leaves — lets stay

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