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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: season · degree · bulb · rest · charge · pitch · mine · branch

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. charge — a price
  3. bulb — for light
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. branch — a division
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. degree — an amount
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. charge — electricity
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. season — in sport
  18. degree — from a university
  19. mine — for digging
  20. charge — in control
  21. season — of the year
  22. rest — a break
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rest — what's left

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