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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. suit — in cards
  3. lean — thin
  4. tube — the underground
  5. mug — a face
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pound — a weight
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. suit — clothes
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. degree — an amount
  14. last — to go on
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. lean — to bend
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mug — to rob
  19. last — finally
  20. suit — to fit
  21. tube — a container
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. mug — a cup
  24. last — final

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