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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 120 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: trunk · degree · bulb · pitch · bear · kid · file · mug

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. mug — a face
  3. bulb — for light
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. file — a document
  10. kid — child
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bear — the animal
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mug — a cup
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pitch — completely
  19. kid — to tease
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. file — a tool
  23. mug — to rob
  24. bulb — for light

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