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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. degree — from a university
  3. firm — steady
  4. fine — all right
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. last — final
  8. degree — temperature
  9. firm — a company
  10. bulb — for light
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. last — to go on
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. tube — the underground
  17. firm — decided
  18. mine — for digging
  19. fine — high quality
  20. last — finally
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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