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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.

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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: deal · lean · march · bulb · fork · content · pit · degree

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. bulb — for light
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. pit — in a race
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. march — the month
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bulb — for light
  17. content — the amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to bend
  23. march — the month
  24. content — happy

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