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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bulb — for light
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bear — the animal
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. stock — shares
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. ground — a position
  16. degree — an amount
  17. snap — to click
  18. ground — crushed
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bear — the animal
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. ground — the earth
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. degree — temperature

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