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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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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: bulb · foot · field · cue · spring · degree · sharp · cell

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. foot — a measure
  6. field — a subject
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cue — a hint
  9. spring — the season
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. spring — of water
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cue — a signal
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cell — in biology
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bulb — for light
  21. field — farmland
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cell — a phone
  24. sharp — with an edge

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