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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. file — a tool
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bulb — for light
  8. tube — a container
  9. rest — what's left
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. degree — temperature
  12. current — happening now
  13. file — a line of people
  14. current — of water
  15. current — electric
  16. degree — an amount
  17. file — a document
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bass — low music
  21. bulb — for light
  22. rest — a break
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. degree — from a university

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