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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. firm — a company
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. firm — steady
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. degree — temperature
  10. firm — decided
  11. bore — to drill
  12. season — of the year
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. degree — from a university
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. craft — boats
  20. tube — a container
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. craft — a skill

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