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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: degree · cell · pitch · bulb · roll · root · snap · spell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. degree — from a university
  4. root — the cause
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. spell — magic
  10. snap — to click
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — a list
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cell — a phone
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spell — letters
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. pitch — completely
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. pitch — a sports field

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