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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. spell — magic
  7. bulb — for light
  8. kid — to tease
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. root — the cause
  16. kid — child
  17. cue — for pool
  18. degree — temperature
  19. root — of a plant
  20. cue — a hint
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. root — of a word
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cue — a signal

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