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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 · spell · jam · saw · swing · mine · degree · pitcher

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bulb — for light
  4. spell — a short time
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. swing — music
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spell — magic
  13. swing — in golf
  14. degree — temperature
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spell — letters
  19. mine — for digging
  20. swing — to play on
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. pitcher — a jug

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