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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cap — a lid
  4. charge — electricity
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cap — of ice
  7. charge — in control
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. tube — the underground
  10. degree — an amount
  11. firm — a company
  12. drill — a practice
  13. tube — a container
  14. firm — steady
  15. bulb — for light
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. charge — a price
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cap — a hat
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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