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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 120 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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cue — for pool
  3. tube — the underground
  4. kid — to tease
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. bulb — for light
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cue — a hint
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cue — a signal
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bulb — for light
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. net — in sport
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. board — to get on
  18. kid — child
  19. net — for catching
  20. degree — an amount
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. net — after costs
  23. board — a committee
  24. tube — a container

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