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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 116 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — the underground
  3. net — in sport
  4. last — final
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. last — finally
  10. hand — help
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. net — after costs
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. net — for catching
  18. last — to go on
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — for digging
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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