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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: lean · capital · bulb · degree · snap · ball · jam · field

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. field — for sport
  4. capital — money
  5. degree — temperature
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. ball — a great time
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. capital — a city
  10. degree — from a university
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. field — a subject
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. bulb — for light
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. degree — an amount
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. lean — to bend
  20. field — farmland
  21. lean — thin
  22. bulb — for light
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bulb — of a plant

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