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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. staff — a stick
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. staff — employees
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pit — in a race
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. stock — shares
  11. plane — a tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stock — goods
  14. bulb — for light
  15. clip — a video
  16. staff — employees
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. pit — a hole
  22. clip — for paper
  23. degree — from a university
  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