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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. degree — an amount
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rash — hasty
  9. club — for golf
  10. drill — a practice
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. drill — army training
  16. club — a group
  17. bulb — for light
  18. snap — to click
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. club — for dancing
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. drill — the tool
  24. rash — a series

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