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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 116 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 light ________________ burned out.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. degree — from a university
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. row — a line
  8. degree — an amount
  9. kid — to tease
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kid — child
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. row — to paddle
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spell — a short time
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. row — a quarrel

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