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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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. ground — a position
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. ground — the earth
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. craft — boats
  9. bulb — for light
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. degree — from a university
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. degree — an amount
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. ground — crushed
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. craft — a skill
  20. squash — to crush
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cold — not warm

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