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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. degree — from a university
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. drill — a practice
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. degree — an amount
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. capital — money
  13. tube — a container
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. shower — to wash
  20. drill — the tool
  21. capital — a city
  22. drill — army training
  23. degree — temperature
  24. capital — a big letter

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