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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  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. land — ground
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bulb — for light
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. land — to come down
  6. court — of a king
  7. squash — to crush
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bulb — for light
  13. degree — from a university
  14. land — a country
  15. squash — the sport
  16. can — to be able to
  17. court — for sport
  18. cue — for pool
  19. can — a tin
  20. cue — a signal
  21. degree — an amount
  22. court — of law
  23. can — a tin
  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