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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.

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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 · fork · degree · race · scale · bowl · mug · field

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. race — a contest
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. mug — to rob
  8. degree — an amount
  9. race — humankind
  10. field — farmland
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bulb — for light
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. field — a subject
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mug — a face
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fork — in a road
  22. mug — a cup
  23. field — for sport
  24. fork — a garden tool

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