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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cue — for pool
  5. row — a line
  6. cue — a hint
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. race — the arms race
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. ground — crushed
  16. degree — an amount
  17. race — a contest
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. race — humankind
  20. row — to paddle
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bulb — of a plant

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