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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bulb — for light
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wound — an injury
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. dip — to sink
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wound — an injury
  17. game — a match
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — to bear
  23. degree — temperature
  24. dip — to dunk

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