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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: bound · ball · spring · drill · degree · chest · present · bulb

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. drill — the tool
  10. chest — a box
  11. bulb — for light
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a great time
  15. drill — army training
  16. bound — certain
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bulb — for light
  21. drill — a practice
  22. present — a gift
  23. bound — obliged
  24. ball — a dance

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