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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: mine · pitcher · pop · leaves · bulb · rest · degree · field

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bulb — for light
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. mine — for digging
  7. field — a subject
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bulb — for light
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pop — music
  13. degree — an amount
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. field — for sport
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. pop — soda
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pop — to visit
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. degree — from a university
  23. field — farmland
  24. rest — a break

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