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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: mate · degree · bulb · wave · court · tube · face · pitch

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. tube — the underground
  3. face — to confront
  4. pitch — completely
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. mate — to breed
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bulb — for light
  11. court — of law
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. court — of a king
  18. mate — a partner
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. mate — a friend
  23. tube — a container
  24. wave — of the sea

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