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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pitch · patient · land · hide · court · wax · degree

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. wax — to grow
  8. land — ground
  9. bulb — for light
  10. degree — from a university
  11. land — a country
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. degree — an amount
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. degree — temperature
  23. court — of law
  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