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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. spring — the season
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bulb — for light
  7. spring — of water
  8. branch — a division
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bulb — for light
  13. degree — from a university
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mine — for digging
  17. game — wild animals
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mouse — 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