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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pit — in a race
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — a hole
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. last — final
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. current — electric
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. last — to go on
  19. current — of water
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bulb — for light
  23. current — happening now
  24. last — finally

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