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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: bulb · rock · pitch · saw · jam · degree · lie · cold

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rock — a stone
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. degree — temperature
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. saw — the tool
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bulb — for light
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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