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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cold — an illness
  4. tube — a container
  5. cue — a signal
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. last — to go on
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pit — in a race
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tube — the underground
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cold — not warm
  16. last — finally
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. fine — all right
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. last — final
  21. fine — high quality
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. pit — a hole

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