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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bulb — for light
  3. net — after costs
  4. mark — a grade
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — a stone
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. mark — a trace
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spring — a coil
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. net — in sport
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. net — for catching
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spring — the season
  19. rock — music
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. spring — of water
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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