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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pop — soda
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. club — for dancing
  15. degree — temperature
  16. lean — thin
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. lean — to bend
  20. pop — music
  21. kid — child
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — a group
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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