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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. degree — temperature
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. land — to come down
  6. track — to keep track
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fine — high quality
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. prune — to trim
  11. track — a path
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. tube — a container
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. land — a country
  20. fine — all right
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. track — a song

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