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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. fall — the season
  7. club — for golf
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wax — to grow
  10. club — a group
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bulb — for light
  13. hand — in cards
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bulb — for light
  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