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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 · season · spring · dip · temple · bulb · cap · degree

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. degree — from a university
  3. season — of the year
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. season — in sport
  6. cap — of ice
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. spring — a coil
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bulb — for light
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. degree — an amount
  21. cap — a lid
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. spring — of water

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