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

Word bank: pound · bulb · last · wound · degree · hide · stick · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — temperature
  5. last — finally
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mate — to breed
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. mate — a partner
  13. last — to go on
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bulb — for light
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. last — final

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