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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: mark · bulb · cold · pass · spring · degree · mate · dip

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  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. bulb — for light
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mate — a friend
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mate — to breed
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. dip — to sink
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. spring — of water
  17. pass — a permit
  18. spring — the season
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mate — a partner
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. pass — to succeed
  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