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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 120 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. march — the month
  3. key — in music
  4. march — the month
  5. bound — tied together
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bound — obliged
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bound — certain
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. tube — the underground
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. degree — an amount
  23. march — music
  24. row — to paddle

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