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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. degree — an amount
  4. chip — to eat
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. game — a match
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. bulb — for light
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. drill — army training
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mate — a partner
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. degree — from a university
  23. field — for sport
  24. chip — for betting

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