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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bulb — for light
  4. land — to come down
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. degree — temperature
  12. branch — a division
  13. mark — a trace
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mine — for digging
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bulb — for light
  18. kid — to tease
  19. land — ground
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. land — a country

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