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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. band — a ring
  3. ground — the earth
  4. tube — a container
  5. band — a music group
  6. degree — from a university
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. ground — a position
  9. key — for a lock
  10. land — a country
  11. key — the most important part
  12. ground — crushed
  13. land — to come down
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. degree — temperature
  16. object — to protest
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. key — in music
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. land — ground
  21. object — a thing
  22. degree — an amount
  23. object — an aim
  24. tube — the underground

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