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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. can — a tin
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bulb — for light
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. spell — magic
  10. file — a tool
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. can — a tin
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. cue — a hint
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cue — for pool
  20. can — to be able to
  21. bulb — for light
  22. degree — from a university
  23. spell — letters
  24. file — a document

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