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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. degree — from a university
  3. toast — bread
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. row — a line
  6. cell — in biology
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. snap — to click
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. bore — to drill
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. rule — a law
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. row — to paddle
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bore — to tire

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