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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: land · hand · bulb · degree · court · branch · mug · wake

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. degree — an amount
  5. court — for sport
  6. branch — a division
  7. land — ground
  8. mug — a face
  9. mug — to rob
  10. land — a country
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. wake — a trail
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. degree — from a university
  15. court — of a king
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bulb — for light
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. degree — temperature
  20. court — of law
  21. bulb — for light
  22. hand — help
  23. mug — a cup
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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