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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. object — to protest
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. track — to keep track
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. track — a song
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. track — a path
  13. degree — from a university
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. degree — temperature
  17. object — a thing
  18. sharp — clever
  19. spring — the season
  20. tube — the underground
  21. degree — an amount
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. tube — a container
  24. sharp — with an edge

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