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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bulb — for light
  5. tear — to rip
  6. net — for catching
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. rash — a series
  9. net — after costs
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. tear — from crying
  23. net — in sport
  24. toast — bread

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