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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. ball — a dance
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bulb — for light
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cold — an illness
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wake — a trail
  21. tube — a container
  22. ball — a great time
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. ball — a round shape

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