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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: degree · scale · bark · pitcher · bulb · rest · cap · spring

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. rest — a break
  3. spring — of water
  4. bark — to shout
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. spring — a coil
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — size or range
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. cap — of ice
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cap — a hat
  19. scale — in music
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spring — the season
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. degree — from a university

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