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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.

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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: pass · cell · degree · bulb · key · field · tear · bark

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bark — to shout
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. degree — an amount
  7. key — in music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cell — in biology
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. pass — a permit
  14. tear — from crying
  15. field — a subject
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. key — the most important part
  23. degree — temperature
  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