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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cap — a lid
  3. spring — of water
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. shower — rain
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cap — of ice
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. degree — an amount
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bulb — for light
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cap — a hat
  22. rest — a break
  23. dip — to sink
  24. spring — the season

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