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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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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. tube — a container
  8. face — part of the head
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. tube — the underground
  18. capital — a city
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — to point toward
  21. chest — a box
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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