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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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Word bank
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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pound — a weight
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. degree — temperature
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. cold — not warm
  10. swing — music
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. tube — the underground
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. dip — to sink
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. degree — from a university
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cold — an illness
  24. swing — to play on

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