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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 ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. degree — an amount
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. degree — temperature
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pop — soda
  9. wind — moving air
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. pop — music
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pop — to visit
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. tube — a container
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. patient — a sick person

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