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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 116 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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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: game · wake · stem · bulb · wound · degree · spring · bay

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wake — a trail
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. game — wild animals
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. spring — a coil
  11. game — a match
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. spring — the season
  14. degree — from a university
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. spring — of water
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wound — an injury

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