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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. can — to be able to
  5. last — to go on
  6. bulb — for light
  7. land — a country
  8. last — finally
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. pass — a permit
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. wind — moving air
  21. land — to come down
  22. last — final
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wind — to turn a key

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