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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: degree · fan · lie · pitcher · kid · spring · arm · bulb

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bulb — for light
  3. kid — child
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lie — to recline
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. kid — to tease
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. degree — an amount
  24. spring — the season

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