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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. prune — to trim
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. degree — temperature
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. club — a group
  12. content — the amount
  13. club — for dancing
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bass — low music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bass — the fish
  18. prune — to trim
  19. content — happy
  20. wind — moving air
  21. club — for golf
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. prune — the fruit

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