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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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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: degree · club · bulb · spring · staff · fork · dip · race

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. spring — a coil
  3. staff — employees
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. dip — to sink
  6. degree — from a university
  7. club — for dancing
  8. staff — employees
  9. club — for golf
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spring — of water
  12. race — a contest
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. club — a group
  15. fork — in a road
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. race — humankind
  18. staff — a stick
  19. race — the arms race
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. degree — an amount
  22. spring — the season
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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