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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mug — a face
  5. degree — an amount
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mug — to rob
  8. field — farmland
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. shower — rain
  11. bass — low music
  12. field — for sport
  13. present — a gift
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. present — there
  18. mug — a cup
  19. row — to paddle
  20. degree — temperature
  21. present — the time now
  22. field — a subject
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. row — a line

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