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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bank — for money
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bank — of a river
  8. present — there
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. present — the time now
  12. game — a match
  13. march — music
  14. bank — for money
  15. march — the month
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. bulb — for light
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. degree — from a university
  21. face — part of the head
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. march — the month

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