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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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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. tube — the underground
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bank — for money
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. prune — to trim
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bore — to drill
  14. tube — a container
  15. chest — a box
  16. degree — from a university
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chest — of your body

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