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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 120 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: spring · bulb · net · racket · deal · rule · staff · degree

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. degree — an amount
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. deal — to handle
  6. rule — government
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. spring — the season
  9. net — for catching
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. net — after costs
  14. spring — of water
  15. net — in sport
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. staff — a stick
  20. spring — a coil
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. degree — from a university
  24. staff — employees

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