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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. spell — magic
  4. bass — the fish
  5. spell — letters
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bulb — for light
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bass — low music
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mate — a friend
  24. spell — a short time

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