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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. key — for a lock
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mate — to breed
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. key — in music
  10. court — for sport
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bulb — for light
  16. court — of law
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bulb — for light
  19. key — the most important part
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mate — a partner
  22. degree — from a university
  23. court — of a king
  24. degree — an amount

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