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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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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: bulb · degree · net · kid · last · bowl · straw · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bulb — for light
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. net — for catching
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bulb — for light
  14. net — after costs
  15. degree — an amount
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. kid — to tease
  20. last — final
  21. net — in sport
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. date — the fruit

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