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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. degree — from a university
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. land — ground
  12. last — final
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. roll — a cake
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. last — finally
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pass — a permit
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. last — to go on
  23. roll — a list
  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