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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: mate · degree · perch · game · bulb · wave · rush · court

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rush — hurry
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bulb — for light
  10. court — of law
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. degree — temperature
  17. game — a match
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bulb — for light
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. mate — a friend

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