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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. net — for catching
  9. roll — a list
  10. bear — the animal
  11. roll — a cake
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rest — a break
  14. bear — the animal
  15. net — after costs
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. chest — a box
  20. net — in sport
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bulb — for light

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