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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. fall — to drop
  4. degree — from a university
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. branch — a division
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bulb — for light
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. row — a line
  17. degree — an amount
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. fall — the season
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. rush — hurry

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