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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.

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: land · spring · bulb · bark · degree · sharp · charge · fine

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. degree — temperature
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. charge — electricity
  6. fine — high quality
  7. land — to come down
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. spring — a coil
  10. land — a country
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. degree — from a university
  15. fine — all right
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spring — the season
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. charge — a price
  21. land — ground
  22. spring — of water
  23. bark — to shout
  24. charge — in control

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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