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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · bulb · court · degree · march · tear

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bulb — for light
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. court — of a king
  7. tear — from crying
  8. court — for sport
  9. march — the month
  10. court — of law
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — from a university
  14. march — music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bulb — for light

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