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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: fan · drill · clip · degree · court · bulb · safe · mate

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. drill — army training
  4. bulb — for light
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. mate — a friend
  7. drill — a practice
  8. degree — from a university
  9. clip — to cut
  10. court — of law
  11. clip — a video
  12. bulb — for light
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — to breed
  18. court — of a king
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. drill — the tool
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. clip — for paper
  24. degree — temperature

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