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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ground — the earth
  5. tube — the underground
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. club — for golf
  8. cell — in biology
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. club — for dancing
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. sharp — clever
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. ground — crushed
  17. tube — a container
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. degree — temperature
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. club — a group
  24. ground — a position

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