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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. degree — from a university
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. last — final
  6. degree — temperature
  7. drill — army training
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. drill — the tool
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — a container
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. drill — a practice
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. degree — an amount
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. bark — to shout
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. last — to go on
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. bark — a dog's sound

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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