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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. spring — the season
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. content — the amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bulb — for light
  7. content — happy
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. degree — temperature
  10. march — the month
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bark — to shout
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. march — the month
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. spring — a coil
  22. march — music
  23. spring — of water
  24. bark — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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