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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 120 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. club — for golf
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. degree — from a university
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bulb — for light
  11. race — a contest
  12. content — happy
  13. club — for dancing
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. race — the arms race
  16. club — a group
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. shower — rain
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. content — the amount
  23. race — humankind
  24. degree — temperature

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