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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. mate — to breed
  3. cold — an illness
  4. tube — the underground
  5. mate — a friend
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mug — to rob
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. band — a music group
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mug — a cup
  17. cold — not warm
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. mug — a face
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. band — a ring
  23. stem — to come from
  24. deal — to handle

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