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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — the fish
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. degree — temperature
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bass — low music
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. degree — an amount
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tube — a container
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tube — the underground

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