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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 120 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mug — a cup
  5. tube — the underground
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wound — an injury
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mug — to rob
  12. degree — from a university
  13. mug — a face
  14. degree — an amount
  15. tube — a container
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. cap — a hat
  20. staff — employees
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. cap — of ice
  23. swing — music
  24. wound — an injury

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