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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. scale — size or range
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — a weight
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. scale — in music
  10. rash — a series
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bore — to tire
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. rash — hasty
  20. kick — in football
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bore — to drill

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