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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — for light
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fall — the season
  6. hand — help
  7. net — after costs
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. firm — a company
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. firm — decided
  14. roll — a list
  15. chair — a leader
  16. hand — in cards
  17. firm — steady
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. roll — a cake
  20. net — in sport
  21. fall — to drop
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fall — to drop
  24. net — for catching

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