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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 116 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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. craft — boats
  3. degree — from a university
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. cap — of ice
  6. scale — size or range
  7. degree — temperature
  8. kid — child
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. kid — to tease
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bulb — for light
  14. hand — help
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. scale — in music
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — a lid
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. craft — a skill
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bulb — of a plant

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