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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: key · degree · bulb · bore · saw · deal · court · march

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bore — to tire
  4. march — the month
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. saw — the tool
  8. key — the most important part
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. march — music
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. bore — to drill
  13. march — the month
  14. court — for sport
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. key — for a lock
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. key — in music
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bulb — for light
  24. deal — to handle

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