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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. land — to come down
  3. cue — for pool
  4. land — a country
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. rest — what's left
  10. degree — temperature
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — for light
  16. branch — a division
  17. cue — a signal
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cue — a hint
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. land — ground
  24. branch — of a tree

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