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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. land — a country
  5. track — a song
  6. mug — to rob
  7. track — a path
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mug — a face
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. tube — a container
  12. lie — to recline
  13. mug — a cup
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. tube — the underground
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. degree — an amount
  18. plane — a tool
  19. land — ground
  20. degree — temperature
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. land — to come down
  23. game — wild animals
  24. track — to keep track

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