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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. tube — a container
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. track — to keep track
  8. swing — in golf
  9. track — a song
  10. tube — the underground
  11. spring — of water
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. spring — a coil
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wake — a trail
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. spring — the season
  20. track — a path
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. swing — music
  24. hide — to keep secret

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