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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. tube — in a tire
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. degree — temperature
  4. march — the month
  5. cell — a phone
  6. press — a publisher
  7. tube — a container
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. degree — an amount
  10. press — to push
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. hand — in cards
  13. march — the month
  14. tube — the underground
  15. cell — in biology
  16. hand — help
  17. march — music
  18. degree — from a university
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. press — newspapers
  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