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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. degree — an amount
  4. tube — a container
  5. kid — to tease
  6. root — of a word
  7. track — to keep track
  8. ball — a dance
  9. stock — goods
  10. degree — from a university
  11. root — of a plant
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. tube — the underground
  15. track — a song
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. ball — a great time
  18. sharp — clever
  19. track — a path
  20. root — the cause
  21. stock — shares
  22. kid — child
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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