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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. can — to be able to
  6. mark — a trace
  7. degree — temperature
  8. dip — to sink
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. tube — the underground
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. tube — a container
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. can — a tin
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. mark — a grade
  23. can — a tin
  24. degree — from a university

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