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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. field — for sport
  3. spring — of water
  4. suit — in cards
  5. degree — from a university
  6. spring — a coil
  7. suit — to fit
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mark — a trace
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. mark — a grade
  15. spring — the season
  16. tube — the underground
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. suit — clothes

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