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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. 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 — the underground
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. degree — from a university
  9. track — to keep track
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. tube — a container
  13. staff — employees
  14. wind — moving air
  15. track — a song
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. degree — temperature
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. track — a path
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. 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