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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. degree — an amount
  5. tube — the underground
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. degree — from a university
  8. fine — all right
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. file — a document
  12. squash — the sport
  13. fine — high quality
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. degree — temperature
  17. file — a line of people
  18. squash — to crush
  19. file — a tool
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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