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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bulb — for light
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bear — the animal
  11. content — happy
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. content — the amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. court — of a king
  24. bear — the animal

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