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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: perch · degree · content · bowl · staff · spring · bulb · cell

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. staff — employees
  4. spring — the season
  5. staff — employees
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bulb — for light
  11. degree — temperature
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. content — the amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cell — in biology
  20. perch — the fish
  21. content — happy
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. staff — a stick

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