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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. march — music
  4. mug — a face
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mug — a cup
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. degree — temperature
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bulb — for light
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rush — hurry
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mug — to rob

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