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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ground — the earth
  9. branch — a division
  10. mine — for digging
  11. content — happy
  12. club — for golf
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. club — for dancing
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. degree — temperature
  21. content — the amount
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. ground — a position
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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