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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. degree — temperature
  3. tube — a container
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. tube — the underground
  6. can — a tin
  7. rush — hurry
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. can — a tin
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. can — to be able to
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. kick — in football
  24. degree — an amount

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