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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rest — what's left
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. rest — a break
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pass — a permit

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