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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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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: bulb · straw · tube · rock · degree · wake · net · stem

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. degree — from a university
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. tube — a container
  6. degree — an amount
  7. net — in sport
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. tube — the underground
  10. net — after costs
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. degree — temperature
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. wake — a trail
  23. net — for catching
  24. rock — 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