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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bulb — for light
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bore — to tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. file — a document
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cap — a hat
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. file — a tool
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bore — to drill

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