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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. pop — music
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spring — of water
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. spring — the season
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pop — soda
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pop — to visit
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bat — for baseball

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