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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. degree — from a university
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. track — to keep track
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. lean — to bend
  8. scale — in music
  9. tube — the underground
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. track — a song
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — temperature
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tube — a container
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. march — music
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. march — the month
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. degree — an amount
  24. track — a path

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