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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. degree — temperature
  6. snap — to click
  7. bulb — for light
  8. spring — the season
  9. wax — to grow
  10. tube — a container
  11. season — in sport
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. spring — of water
  22. season — of the year
  23. tube — the underground
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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