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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. degree — temperature
  3. face — to point toward
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. present — there
  7. face — to confront
  8. bulb — for light
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — from a university
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. track — a path
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bulb — for light
  16. tear — from crying
  17. capital — a city
  18. tube — a container
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. tube — the underground
  22. face — part of the head
  23. capital — money
  24. degree — an amount

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