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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. cold — an illness
  4. tube — a container
  5. shower — rain
  6. roll — a list
  7. roll — a cake
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. suit — in cards
  10. suit — to fit
  11. face — part of the head
  12. suit — clothes
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. degree — from a university
  15. face — to point toward
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. degree — temperature
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. degree — an amount
  20. shower — to wash
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. face — to confront
  23. tube — the underground
  24. cold — not warm

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