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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 116 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: pit · degree · bulb · key · prune · bay · spring · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. degree — from a university
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. prune — to trim
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. spring — of water
  13. pit — a hole
  14. spring — a coil
  15. prune — to trim
  16. key — the most important part
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. pit — in a race
  20. spring — the season
  21. bulb — for light
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bulb — for light
  24. key — in music

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