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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. court — of a king
  3. spell — magic
  4. bulb — for light
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. land — to come down
  9. spell — a short time
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spell — letters
  14. game — a match
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. degree — from a university
  18. land — ground
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. land — a country

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