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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. stand — to bear
  4. tube — a container
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. pit — in a race
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. degree — temperature
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wake — a trail
  14. kid — to tease
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. tube — the underground
  18. kid — child
  19. prune — to trim
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pit — a hole
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. wake — before a funeral

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