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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. degree — temperature
  7. squash — to crush
  8. current — happening now
  9. race — a contest
  10. content — happy
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. race — the arms race
  13. degree — an amount
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. race — humankind
  16. current — of water
  17. content — the amount
  18. current — electric
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. bulb — for light
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. squash — the vegetable

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