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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. pound — a weight
  9. degree — from a university
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. band — a music group
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. degree — an amount
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — to bear
  17. rule — government
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. spring — of water
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rule — a law
  23. degree — temperature
  24. tube — in a tire

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