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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 120 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cap — a lid
  5. charge — in control
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. degree — an amount
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bulb — for light
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. stock — shares
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cap — of ice
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — a price
  22. degree — from a university
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. degree — temperature

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