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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. game — a match
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. fork — in a road
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. game — wild animals
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. tube — the underground
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. pound — a weight
  13. tube — a container
  14. band — a music group
  15. staff — employees
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. staff — a stick
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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