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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. land — ground
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. bulb — for light
  6. stock — shares
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. file — a document
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bulb — for light
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. degree — an amount
  14. capital — money
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. land — to come down
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stock — goods
  20. capital — a city
  21. land — a country
  22. file — a tool
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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