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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: rest · shower · file · pitcher · spring · chair · degree · bulb

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bulb — for light
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. rest — a break
  7. degree — an amount
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spring — a coil
  11. file — a document
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bulb — for light
  15. file — a tool
  16. shower — to wash
  17. chair — a leader
  18. shower — rain
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spring — of water
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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