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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: bulb · arm · wound · bat · fork · mate · degree · court

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. degree — from a university
  4. court — of law
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bulb — for light
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. court — of a king
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. fork — in a road
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bulb — for light
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wound — an injury
  23. court — for sport
  24. mate — to breed

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