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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bulb — for light
  6. present — there
  7. bulb — for light
  8. spring — the season
  9. present — a gift
  10. degree — from a university
  11. court — of law
  12. present — the time now
  13. court — of a king
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bank — of a river
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. spring — of water
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. pitcher — in 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