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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. degree — from a university
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. ground — crushed
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. degree — temperature
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. ground — the earth
  14. pitch — completely
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. kid — child
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. season — in sport
  21. bulb — for light
  22. season — of the year
  23. degree — an amount
  24. racket — for tennis

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