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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rest — a break
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bulb — for light
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. mine — for digging
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bulb — for light
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. rest — what's left
  23. foot — a measure
  24. spring — of water

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