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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. cap — a hat
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. file — a document
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cap — of ice
  8. tube — the underground
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pit — a hole
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. file — a line of people
  15. degree — an amount
  16. file — a tool
  17. degree — from a university
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. hand — help
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cap — a lid
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. hand — in cards

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