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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · pass · club · bulb · safe · pop · calf · degree

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. club — a group
  3. pop — music
  4. court — for sport
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — for golf
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. bulb — for light
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. degree — an amount
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pop — soda
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pass — a permit
  21. court — of law
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. degree — temperature

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