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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mark — a trace
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. bear — the animal
  13. band — a ring
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. band — a music group
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mark — a grade
  24. chest — of your body

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