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

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. degree — temperature
  4. tube — the underground
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. race — a contest
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fork — in a road
  10. race — humankind
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. race — the arms race
  16. degree — from a university
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. degree — an amount

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