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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. tube — a container
  4. face — to confront
  5. degree — temperature
  6. row — to paddle
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. face — to point toward
  10. rock — music
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. row — a line
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a word
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rock — a stone
  18. tube — the underground
  19. branch — a division
  20. root — of a plant
  21. degree — from a university
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. face — part of the head
  24. degree — an amount

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