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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: cell · bulb · perch · degree · date · snap · temple · mouse

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. degree — from a university
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. cell — a phone
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bulb — for light
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bulb — for light
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. perch — the fish
  24. date — the fruit

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