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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. tube — a container
  3. mine — for digging
  4. staff — a stick
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. season — in sport
  7. key — the most important part
  8. hand — in cards
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. tube — the underground
  12. hand — help
  13. staff — employees
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. season — of the year
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. staff — employees
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. key — in music
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. key — for a lock
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. degree — temperature

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