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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: wind · march · degree · fall · bulb · game · present · suit

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wind — moving air
  4. suit — in cards
  5. march — music
  6. present — there
  7. fall — the season
  8. game — a match
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. present — a gift
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. degree — an amount
  20. present — the time now
  21. suit — clothes
  22. suit — to fit
  23. degree — temperature
  24. march — the month

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