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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 120 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: last · bulb · season · land · cabinet · degree · rock · kick

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. season — of the year
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. degree — temperature
  6. last — final
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. last — to go on
  13. kick — in football
  14. land — to come down
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — music
  17. degree — an amount
  18. land — ground
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. last — finally
  23. rock — a stone
  24. season — in sport

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