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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bulb — for light
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. ground — the earth
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. ground — crushed
  8. current — electric
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. ground — a position
  13. degree — from a university
  14. current — happening now
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. fine — all right
  17. spell — magic
  18. fine — high quality
  19. bulb — for light
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. current — of water
  23. degree — an amount
  24. spell — a short time

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