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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 116 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. net — after costs
  3. degree — an amount
  4. net — in sport
  5. can — a tin
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cue — for pool
  8. net — for catching
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. degree — temperature
  12. present — a gift
  13. tube — the underground
  14. cue — a hint
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. cue — a signal
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. degree — from a university
  21. present — there
  22. present — the time now
  23. wound — an injury
  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