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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. degree — from a university
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. season — in sport
  6. stem — to come from
  7. court — of a king
  8. tube — a container
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. degree — an amount
  11. key — in music
  12. season — of the year
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. key — the most important part
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. key — for a lock
  17. court — of law
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. court — for sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. tear — to rip

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