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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. degree — temperature
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. roll — a cake
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bulb — for light
  13. pop — music
  14. content — happy
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. degree — an amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. roll — a list
  22. pop — soda
  23. content — the amount
  24. game — a match

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