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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. degree — an amount
  4. craft — boats
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bass — the fish
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cue — a hint
  11. tear — from crying
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. craft — a skill
  16. tube — a container
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bass — low music
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cue — a signal
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. tear — to rip
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. tear — from crying

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