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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bulb — for light
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. court — of law
  6. bulb — for light
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rash — a series
  9. court — for sport
  10. march — music
  11. tube — a container
  12. ground — crushed
  13. march — the month
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. court — of a king
  18. ground — the earth
  19. tube — the underground
  20. march — the month
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — hasty
  23. degree — an amount
  24. ground — a position

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