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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. pound — a weight
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. degree — temperature
  12. band — a music group
  13. chip — to eat
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. stem — to come from
  18. chip — for betting
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. band — a ring
  21. bark — to shout
  22. tube — the underground
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. degree — an amount

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