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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bore — to tire
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. club — for dancing
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. tube — the underground
  10. file — a line of people
  11. degree — from a university
  12. club — a group
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bore — to drill
  17. club — for golf
  18. file — a tool
  19. row — a line
  20. tube — a container
  21. snap — to click
  22. file — a document
  23. degree — an amount
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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