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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. content — happy
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. tube — a container
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. content — the amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. tube — the underground
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bat — the animal

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