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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bark — to shout
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bulb — for light
  9. land — ground
  10. wind — moving air
  11. land — a country
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. land — to come down
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bowl — a football final

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