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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. perch — the fish
  5. press — a publisher
  6. degree — an amount
  7. press — to push
  8. land — ground
  9. track — a song
  10. land — a country
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. track — a path
  14. land — to come down
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bulb — for light
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mate — to breed
  19. track — to keep track
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. mate — a partner
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bulb — of a plant

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