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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fine · kid · degree · pop · bulb · wake · patient · pit

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. pop — to visit
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pit — in a race
  10. fine — all right
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pit — a hole
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fine — high quality
  18. degree — temperature
  19. kid — child
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. pop — soda
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. patient — a sick person

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