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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bank — for money
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chest — a box
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bank — of a river
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — music
  21. bank — for money
  22. degree — an amount
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. tube — in a tire

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