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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bulb — for light
  3. degree — from a university
  4. sharp — clever
  5. can — a tin
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pop — soda
  10. game — a match
  11. bulb — for light
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. pop — music
  15. can — to be able to
  16. game — wild animals
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. pop — to visit
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. can — a tin
  24. mine — an explosive

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