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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. degree — from a university
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. root — of a plant
  6. degree — temperature
  7. roll — a cake
  8. field — for sport
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. bulb — for light
  12. root — the cause
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cap — of ice
  15. land — ground
  16. degree — an amount
  17. land — a country
  18. cap — a hat
  19. field — a subject
  20. root — of a word
  21. hand — help
  22. land — to come down
  23. cap — a lid
  24. field — farmland

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