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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: row · rest · fall · bulb · mate · degree · spell · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. rest — what's left
  3. row — to paddle
  4. fall — the season
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mate — a partner
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bulb — for light
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. degree — from a university
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fall — to drop
  16. degree — temperature
  17. spell — magic
  18. bulb — for light
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spell — letters
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fall — to drop
  23. spell — a short time
  24. rest — a break

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