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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. net — in sport
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. net — after costs
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. sharp — clever
  13. net — for catching
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — the underground
  17. degree — an amount
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pass — a permit
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. tube — a container
  24. degree — temperature

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