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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. last — final
  5. track — a song
  6. degree — an amount
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. track — to keep track
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. track — a path
  12. last — to go on
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. degree — temperature
  15. tube — a container
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bore — to drill
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. tube — the underground
  21. last — finally
  22. bore — to tire
  23. prune — to trim
  24. mouse — the animal

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