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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — a thing
  11. land — ground
  12. scale — in music
  13. degree — temperature
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. object — to protest
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — a contest
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bulb — for light
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. land — a country
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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