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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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — there
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. pound — a weight
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. present — a gift
  15. bulb — for light
  16. file — a tool
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. file — a document
  20. degree — from a university
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pound — to hit hard

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