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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 120 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
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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: degree · bark · wave · bulb · fine · tube · rule · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. rule — a law
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bark — to shout
  10. tube — the underground
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. content — the amount
  13. bulb — for light
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. tube — a container
  18. fine — all right
  19. rule — government
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. degree — from a university

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