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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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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 · perch · kid · wave · degree · mine · root · band

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. band — a music group
  3. bulb — for light
  4. perch — the fish
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. root — of a word
  7. degree — an amount
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. root — the cause
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mine — for digging
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. band — a ring
  17. bulb — for light
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. degree — from a university
  24. kid — child

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