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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. row — a line
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. season — of the year
  18. snap — to click
  19. season — in sport
  20. bound — tied together
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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