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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: ground · rash · bulb · fall · tube · degree · track · mate

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. mate — a friend
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. mate — to breed
  6. ground — crushed
  7. track — to keep track
  8. tube — a container
  9. ground — a position
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rash — hasty
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. track — a song
  15. bulb — for light
  16. track — a path
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bulb — for light
  21. mate — a partner
  22. ground — the earth
  23. tube — the underground
  24. rash — a series

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