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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. tube — a container
  5. degree — from a university
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. row — to paddle
  13. roll — a list
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. row — a line
  17. sharp — clever
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. field — farmland
  21. tube — the underground
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. racket — a loud noise

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