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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cold — an illness
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bulb — for light
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. scale — size or range
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — to protest
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cold — not warm
  18. degree — an amount
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. scale — in music
  21. snap — to click
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. object — a thing
  24. bulb — for light

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